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Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Registration Page

2009-12-29T14:33:27Z

Sonatazz: /* Volume 2 */

To re-iterate a little of the registration procedure:

*"First Come, First Served": please register your intended chapters here

*This is not some Binding Contract of "I must do the work I put down here". Choices put down here are negotiable between translators (including their own selves who signed up for it).

== ''Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju'' series by Inoue Kenji ==
===Volume 1===
::* Volume1_Illustrations
::* The First Question - [[user:Sleeppig|Sleeppig]] - '''Completed'''
::* The Second Question - [[user:Sleeppig|Sleeppig]] - '''Completed'''
::* The Third Question - [[user:Sleeppig|Sleeppig]] - '''Completed'''
::* The Fourth Question - [[user:Sleeppig|Sleeppig]] - '''Completed'''
::* The Fifth Question - [[user:Sleeppig|Sleeppig]] - '''Completed'''
::* The Sixth Question - [[user:Sleeppig|Sleeppig]] - '''Completed'''
::* The Seventh Question - [[user:Sleeppig|Sleeppig]] - '''Completed'''
::* The Eighth Question - [[user:Sleeppig|Sleeppig]] - '''Completed'''
::* The Ninth Question - [[user:Sleeppig|Sleeppig]] - '''Completed'''
::* The Final Question - [[user:Sleeppig|Sleeppig]] - '''Completed'''
::* Author's Notes - [[user:Sleeppig|Sleeppig]]
::* Translation Notes and References

===Volume 2===
::*Novel Illustrations
::*The First Question - [[user:Sonatazz|Sonatazz]]
::*The Second Question
::*The Third Question
::*The Fourth Question
::*The Fifth Question
::*The Sixth Question
::*The Seventh Question
::*The Final Question
::*Author's Notes

===Volume 3===
::*Novel Illustrations
::*The First Question
::*The Second Question
::*The Third Question
::*The Fourth Question
::*The Fifth Question
::*The Sixth Question
::*The Seventh Question
::*The Final Question
::*Author's Notes

===Volume 3.5===
::*Novel Illustrations
::*パ力とテストと召喚獣～予習編～
::*僕と暴徒とラブレタ―
::*俺と期子と如月ハイランド
::*僕とプールと水着の楽園
::*僕とバイトと危険な週末
::*Author's Notes

===Volume 4===
::*Novel Illustrations
::*The First Question
::*The Second Question
::*The Third Question
::*The Fourth Question
::*The Fifth Question
::*The Sixth Question
::*The Final Question
::*Author's Notes

===Volume 5===
::*Novel Illustrations
::*The First Question
::*The Second Question
::*The Third Question
::*The Fourth Question
::*The Fifth Question
::*The Sixth Question
::*The Seventh Question
::*The Final Question
::*Author's Notes

[[Category:Registration Page]]

User:Sonatazz

2009-12-08T15:22:45Z

Sonatazz: New page: B-T FTW :)

B-T FTW :)

Chrome Shelled Regios:Volume2 Chapter5

2009-12-07T09:43:01Z

Sonatazz:

===Chapter 5: Things in life===

The tight armor-suit felt cool on his skin. The suits looked like they'd be heavy and hot on the outside, but didn’t feel hot after he put them on. They had surprisingly good ventilation. He had worn something like this back in Grendan. Wearing the suit wasn’t new to him.

Under the light, one could just make out the color of his skin beneath the sheer cloth used for filtering pollutants outside the city.

The fitting was done at the last moment, so this was his first time wearing this suit.

He left the fitting room.

“It feels fine,” Layfon said.

He was underneath the city, inside what was called the waist of the city, located beneath the Engine Room and connected to the multi-legs. A space that was basically a gap.

A lot of work, mostly involving the maintenance of the multi-legs, started and ended here.

And in here right now were Layfon, Karian and a couple other students.

The student leader of the technology course let out a relieved sigh. On his face were traces of sleepless nights.

“That’s great, next is the helmet……”

The helmet was made of two parts. The hard component that made up the outer part of the helmet pressed down on the same material as the cloth that made up the armored suit. The cloth was cut according to the contours of Layfon’s face. Once he put on the helmet, his face was sealed from the outside world. Lastly, the student leader connected the piece of cloth hanging out from beneath the helmet to the suit to cover Layfon's neck.

Nothing illuminated the helmet. In total darkness, the Student President sent out a signal to someone through his transmitter.

A scene of somewhere else appeared before Layfon.

Barren earth greeted Layfon’s eyes.

“Oh……”

Right before him was the desolate and sterile earth, with cracks like spider webs across its surface. The dry smell of the earth drifted into his nose. Wind filled with a huge amount of sand beat against Layfon as it blew past him……Like an illusion, the clear images coming through the helmet gave him the feeling that he was seeing things with his own eyes and feeling things with his own body.

“Does it work?”

Felli’s voice.

But she wasn’t beside him.

“Perfect.”

“That’s good,” came the cool reply.

The helmet was connected to Felli’s flakes. They replaced Layfon’s vision and conveyed to him all kinds of information. This way, he wouldn’t have to see the world with his own eyes and risk burning them through contact with the pollutants, and he would also avoid the inconvenience of the sand sticking onto the helmet and obstructing his vision.

“Then everything’s prepared.”

In his harness hung the Dite he got from Harley. It differed from the normal Dite in that it was slightly longer. A small and thin slab of metal curved inward from the handle, and on it were three holes.

This was the completed version of the Adamandite……And its inventor still hadn’t shown up.

Lastly, Layfon equipped himself with four more Dites.

“Please use the bike,” Karian pointed at the thing beside him.

It was a vehicle from the past that had long since lost its original function. Its design was wide but delicate. Underneath the dim light, liquid silver ran across its black outer shell.

The rubber wheels could not be used on the barren earth. Long distances were out of the question, and there was little meaning in making using the wheels for short distances. The obvious conclusion was to adjust the design in a way that was similar to how the robotic legs moved. Even so, its movement far exceeded the speed of robotic legs. Every city had a few of these bikes for emergencies.

The seat for the person needing rescue had been taken off this bike.

Layfon took his seat and switched on the engine. A low rumble sounded out from beneath the vehicle as the bike vibrated.

Karian and the others went to the control room, and the gate leading to the outside world opened. A lift lowered Layfon to the ground.

Furious wind and the city’s slowly moving multi-legs surrounded Layfon. As the lift descended, he gazed at the mountain protruding from the ground far away.

The filth monster was there.

It would take him one day to get there……The long and lonely journey began.

<center>◇</center>

Time rewinds to just a short while before Layfon’s departure. This was the hospital room.

“This is……”

At the voice that sounded lost, Layfon looked away from the vase. It was Nina. The nurse had removed the needles from her back, turned her over and pulled a blanket over her. The remaining light of the sunset shone through the window. Light and shadow separated the room into two colours. Except for the dusky red on Nina’s bed, everywhere else was dim.

Layfon turned on the light. It reflected off the whitewashed walls and shooed away the darkness. Nina squinted at the dazzling light and saw Layfon's silhouette.

“This is the hospital.”

“Hospital……?”

“Don’t you remember?”

“……Uh……”

She slowly shook her head as she watched the ceiling, followed by a light sigh. The sound of quiet movements from nurses, patients and visitors outside the room caused small vibrations in the air.

Layfon looked at the vase again. In it sat Sharnid’s flowers.

“I see, so I fainted.”

“You overused your Kei, senpai.”

Layfon felt suffocated at the sparseness of the conversation. Nina gradually reached the logical conclusion she didn’t want to accept it……A premonition of her struggling to escape and failing at it.

“Were you watching?” she said.

Watching the vase, Layfon felt her gaze stab one side of his face, but the Nina at the edge of his vision was looking at the window painted red by the sunset.

“No.”

“Do you find me ridiculous?”

“I didn’t laugh.”

“But I want to laugh at myself.”

He sensed the blanket move a little.

“I’m so unsightly……”

“I don’t think so.”

“Why?” Irritation filled her question. Mixed in it was also the sound of crying, but he didn’t attempt to confirm that. Perhaps……He didn’t want to look at the Nina gazing at the sunset.

“This might seem cruel, but I think some things can only be understood after a near-death experience. No one can help with that.”

“And this is one of them?” she asked in a mocking tone. Mocking herself.

Layfon nodded.

“……We have to give up on the next platoon match.”

“……I see.”

She must have understood it.

“Did I waste my time?”

“Waste?”

“I want to win and become stronger. In that case, haven’t I been wasting my time?”

“Have you lost just because you can’t participate in the next match?”

“That’s not it!” She tried to sit up, her face twisted. Her entire body hurt so much that she couldn’t even sit up properly. She lay back down heavily, the pillow supporting the sudden weight of her head.

“……Even so, I still want to win and get stronger. If I stop here and can’t do anything in the real match, then nothing else is worth mentioning.”

“True.”

“So haven’t I been wasting my time?”

She didn’t turn to him. Inside the blanket, her body seemed to become smaller.

“……At first, I thought it would be enough if I used my own strength and helped out Zuellni in the next Military Arts competition,” she said softly, still not turning to face him. “But I got a bit greedy. Because you’re so strong. I was scared when I first witnessed it. I wondered whether you were even human, but when I confirmed you were, desire came to me. I didn’t want just to help, I wanted to become the driving force, the core of victory. I thought the 17th platoon had become stronger even though there was no proof of it. If you want to laugh, then go ahead.”

Layfon shook his head solemnly.

“But I lost the match. Of course. And I feel it was fortunate that we lost. That match corrected my error, but I stopped moving forward after that……If that’s the case, what do I have to do to win?”

As long as the team became stronger.

The answer was simple, but Layfon didn’t voice it.

He understood a little of Nina’s line of thinking. Sharnid had a lukewarm attitude, and Felli clearly had no interest at all.

Especially because Felli told him that she wouldn’t use her true strength. She hated herself for being a psychokinesist.

The strength of a team showed in their coordination. It was meaningless for one person to be strong.

The opposing team had demonstrated this truth in the previous match.

“I thought only I needed to become strong. Even if I can’t fight alongside you, at least I can be strong enough not to become a burden, so……”

So she increased the time spent training herself?

The unusual training schedule meant she had a high evaluation of Layfon’s strength.

“But I might have wasted my time.”

Something quiet and heavy pushed down on the air in the room.

“…Does senpai know about the irregularity in your Kei breathing?”

“Huh?”

“I mean the breath of Kei. Senpai was very painful in that last moment.”

“Ah, Ahah……”

The sudden change in topic confused her.

“The irregularity of your Kei breath shows you’ve wasted your training, to a certain point. It’s natural for that to happen because you lie to your body and, despite your exhaustion, you continued to use Kei. This is the same theory as how one can’t breathe in at will while exercising. When a person first breathes with Kei, the Kei vein generates an amount of Kei that’s larger than usual. The training method for the Kei vein is different from how you increase the capacity of your lungs. In the final phase of Kei training, you can live your daily life using the breath of Kei without having to use Internal- and External-type Kei.”

“Layfon……?”

“It’s hard work to maintain the Kei breath without generating a Kei flow, but if that can be done, then it’ll increase the person’s sensitivity to her Kei and the amount of Kei she holds. It’s like the Kei becomes your nervous system. Kei breathing is the foundation of using Kei.”

Kei breathing is the foundation of using Kei.

That was explained in the junior textbook in Military Arts.

But he had said something that wasn’t included in the textbook. None of the textbooks mentioned maintaining a daily life with Kei breathing.

“If humans with a Kei vein want to survive by relying on Military Arts, then it’s meaningless to live the same as normal people. They breathe differently, so the meanings are different. Please look at the flow of Kei as more important than blood. Believe the information from the Kei flow more than what you feel from your nervous system. Don’t become a blood bag that thinks, but please become a formless body of Kei that thinks,” he said lightly.

Nina remained silent and inert as she listened. She watched him with surprise, her eyes slightly red.

“If you want to live by the Military Arts, then give up trying to live as a human.”

He said that to the Nina who was at ease because he was a human – don’t live as humans do.

“That’s all I can tell senpai,” he smiled. It was a forced smile, so it must have looked quite stiff. He could feel the hard muscles of his face.

“Have you noticed? Sharnid-senpai has a new Dite.”

“Huh?”

“He seems to know how to use gun-fu. I don’t know what level he’s at. You can check later. Perhaps we can have more variation in strategies now. But all the formations we've used so far have used everyone to attack; maybe you can do it another way and stay at the back. My brain’s terrible with strategies, and they probably aren’t right, so I have to leave it to Senpai.”

“……”

“I’m good at fighting alone, but I’m terrible when fighting in a team. It’s not easy to fight while thinking of the comrades fighting alongside me. Frankly, I feel that the battle arena is too small.”

“Layfon……”

“Please give me orders, and I’ll try to act them out to the best of my ability. Sharnid-senpai seems to have his own thinking on this. As for Felli-senpai……Well, let’s work hard together.”

He stammered out those last words, so he laughed to cover them.

“It’s all up to senpai whether we can become the strongest platoon, so please don’t abandon us.”

“Abandon you……How could I……”

Nina recalled her recent actions.

Yes, it wasn’t strange to think she had abandoned them when she was training to become strong by herself.

“Yeah……I’ve nothing to say.”

“I’m not against senpai getting stronger. I’ll help out the best I can if there’s anything I can do. Although all I can do is teach you how to train your Kei…If you can find anything more useful than this, then learn from me as much as you can.”

He smiled, a bit embarrassed. This time his smile might have been even stiffer. Please don’t abandon us……That felt just like a kid not wanting to part with someone.

Had he come to like the 17th platoon this much……? Without knowing himself……?

Or was it because of……her?

He didn’t want to leave Nina Antalk?

''(Which is it?)''

He wasn’t sure himself.

“I see……So I’m the only one who's wavering.”

Her soft voice stopped his train of thought.

“We’re comrades, so let’s get stronger together.”

He couldn’t deny the other him who was happy thanks to the intense light in her eyes.

<center>◇</center>

“It was like you were saying your last words.”

“Huh?”

The bike moved forward, bumping across the deserted earth. He was already driving on the smoothest surface, but he wasn’t sure what good it did. He'd had training back in Grendan for driving, but he had never driven for so long a distance. There was a spare tire. If possible, he didn’t want to encounter a situation where he had to use it.

[[Image:CSR vol02 227.jpg|thumb]]
The sun had sunk down in the west. The headlights cut out a circle from the darkness around him.

As long as he got the location right, he’d arrive there, so he constantly checked the compass on the bike's dashboard as he drove.

And Felli was guiding him, so things shouldn't be confusing.

He still hadn’t taken any action at this distance regarding the filth monster. One reason was because of the limited preparation time and movement, but the main reason was his need to coordinate with Felli’s information.

Felli’s voice came through the flake on his helmet. “I heard……What you said in the hospital room.”

“Those weren’t my last words,” he laughed.

“But it’s not strange to think so in this situation, right?”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“But I don’t plan to lose.”

“You didn’t say you wouldn't die.”

“I don’t know anything besides the fact that the filth monster is male. I can’t say what isn’t certain.”

“See?”

He felt the low howling of the wind through his armor-suit. The pollutants beat against him.

On the other side of the skin-thin suit lay a dead world.

Nothing lived except the filth monsters. On the barren earth, shards of soil jutted from the ground. Pollution poisoned the air. Contact with pollutants would cause burns, the skin peeling off in flakes. If one breathed in the air, one’s lungs would rot.

One person was in this dead world.

The uneasy feeling of being in a place he shouldn’t be invaded Layfon.

He had fought in this dead world numerous times, fighting continuously in an arena that was far wider and vaster than any city, but filled with a sense of suffocation. Was he truly alive right now? Even that feeling of “Of course I'm alive” was fading.

His mission was all that kept him going in this place, so when he faced battle, he always felt his life was somewhere far, far away from him.

“I don’t plan to say my last words here,” he repeated.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Fon Fon……”

He almost crashed.

“Have you really decided on that name?” Embarrassed at the nickname that didn’t suit the current atmosphere, he steadied the vehicle.

“I’ve decided.”

There was stubbornness in her icy voice.

“Can you not use that name?”

“No……I remember. We were deciding on something to call me. How did we end up deciding on your nickname?”

“……Don’t ask me.”

He didn’t even get a say in the name of Fon Fon.

“Ah……I get it, because my brother showed up. He has to interfere in everything I do. My emotionless and tearless brother is the cause of my misfortune. I pray daily that he’ll be forced to withdraw because he’s been exposed using public funds for private purposes and other crimes he’s committed.”

“What are you saying……”

Her solemn expression surfaced in his mind.

“Then you decide.”

“Now?”

“I’m bored, so you can either talk to me, or you can make some funny jokes?”

Yes, there was still some time before he reached his destination.

“Um, I can’t, but……”

“Please don’t make jokes. I’ll get a headache if you turn into Sharnid-senpai.”

“…Then what do I do?”

“Just think of what to call me.”

“Um……”

“Hurry……”

He was troubled. Anyway, all he needed was to say what he thought.

“……Felli-chan?”

“I’m already used to that. I've been called that since I was very little. Use more creativity. This name’s denied.”

“Felli-chi?”

“I feel like a moron. Rejected.”

Then what about when Meishen was called Mei-chi? But he didn’t say that to Felli. Recently, he had been calling her Mei. Speaking of which, that was how he called Naruki too, but that seemed different……

“Felli-chon.”

“Is that even meaningful? Rejected.”

“Felli-yan.”

“My name is not a joke. Rejected.”

“Felli-lin.”

“Are you laughing?”

“Felli Felli.”

“I hate rehash. Rejected.”

“Feffen.”

“Sounds like a strange laugh. Rejected.”

“Fernandez.”

“Who's that? Rejected.”

“Felli-tan.”

“Do you want to die~? Rejected.”

“…Sorry, I give up.”

“You’re not permitted to give up.”

What should he do……He wanted to hold his head. Besides, the name was usually shortened or changed to add variations to its tone. Or he could use some similar thing as an analogy……

“……”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

He decided not to say she was a cold, bloodless doll. That would definitely hurt.

“Please hurry,” she urged. His head felt like stone. He couldn’t think of anything else.

''(Fe?......What is that?)''

If he shortened her name, it became some strange sound. What if Naruki became Fekki? How strange.

“Hurry up. What’s with you?”

“Felli,” he said in resignation. There were no variations and no comparisons.

Just her original name. Perhaps that sounded rough. Even so, he couldn’t help it. He had no other ideas.

''(How about that?)''

“……”

“……Say it again.”

“Um…Felli.”

“Mm……”

Felli’s image wasn’t displayed in the helmet, but he felt he saw her. Her right hand caressed her chin, left hand supporting her right elbow, her head slightly cocked, her gaze lightly stroking the sky above her......This image of her surfaced in his mind.

“It’s not creative at all, and you didn’t put any effort into it. No respect for your senpai at all, and there’s no affection for me. It’s so bad that you can’t call it a name.”

So that didn’t work……Well……

Layfon tried to think of another name, but instead was surprised by what Felli said next.

“Never mind, we’ll just use that.”

“Heh?” He was rather shocked, then glad of her letting him go.

“But you have to say it with more emotion. I don’t need the respect for a senpai though. Call me that from now on, okay?”

“Uh…Um…”

“Well, Fon Fon. Say it again.”

“Ah, yes……Felli.”

“Good.”

Layfon relaxed.

“Promise me.”

“……What?”

“Call me that from now on, ok?”

“Uh, in front of others too?”

“Of course.”

“And Fon Fon too?”

“Sure.”

“Sorry, please forgive me.”

If he was called Fon Fon during team training and after school……

(No……NoNoNO!)

That would be so embarrassing.

“Fine, then I’ll call you Fon Fon when we’re alone.”

He could truly relax now.

“In exchange for that, I’ll add one more condition.”

“Yes, leave it to me,” Layfon said, not really having heard what Felli had just said. He’d agree to any request as long as she didn’t call him Fon Fon in front of everyone.

“Please remember to call me by that name when you return.”

“……”

“It’s a promise.”

Those were the last words; Felli stopped talking after that.

He took a quick nap before dawn. The swaying of his body stuck to him like echoes. And like that, he lay on the vehicle and closed his eyes.

The wind had died down and everywhere looked dead. He didn’t know what Felli was doing on the other end of the flakes. She hadn’t spoken to him for a while now.

It was really quiet, as if even his own voice had died off. When he moved slightly, the sound of Dites bumping against the bike shook his eardrums. On the other hand, the feeling of him being alive was more intense than ever.

He knew there was no such thing, but that feeling came unbidden to him. He had no one beside him, no one to help him. The people living in Zuellni were far behind him, and he had no idea where the other cities were.

What was Leerin doing?

This flashed through his mind.

After the attack on Zuellni, he had only written one letter to Leerin. He felt that he was waiting for a return letter from somewhere. It wasn’t that strange that he still hadn’t received a letter. The roaming buses hadn’t delivered any letters, so the mail would probably come soon.

He candidly told her about the current Layfon in that letter. How he was forced to transfer into the Military Arts, enter a platoon and fight the larvae……And his inability to give up on the Military Arts. What would Leerin think? Would she smile bitterly and say “Can’t be helped since it’s you,” or would she lecture him with a pink face……

The harness swayed and the Dites jostled against each other.

(I……am quite afraid of being alone.)

He deeply thought that. He used to write to Leerin every week, but he hadn’t been doing that now. One reason was his losing the fresh and curious feeling he had when he first started school. The second reason was that Leerin didn’t write as much in her letters to him. He felt a distance between them.

He hadn’t received a letter from Leerin since her last letter.

''(It must be the distance between cities.)''

In the time when cities couldn’t contact each other, Layfon was doubtful as to whether his letter had arrived safely at Grendan. He didn’t think Leerin would not want to write to him. The unreliable connection between cities, the Layfon involved in this situation, the Layfon who thought of Leerin in this time…… He arrived at this conclusion from all these factors combined.

Had the people he met in this city filled his loneliness of not being with Leerin?

No.

It didn’t fill his loneliness. It replaced it. The truth of leaving Leerin remained in him. He was just so busy with school and everything that he hadn’t the time to feel lonely.

This was the Layfon in Zuellni. Perhaps it was a good thing that he wasn’t as tense as he was in Grendan.

''(Although there’s a lot of troublesome things, and I’m doing what I did before……)''

And as part of his life in Zuellni, he was out here in the open, in a desolate environment, totally isolated from his normal life.

Particles of sand beat against the vehicle and his Dites.

The wind was rising again. Listening to the sound of the wind, Layfon’s consciousness sank into shallow darkness.

<center>◇</center>

Time rewinds back to just after Layfon’s departure.

The door was pushed open.

“Yo, Nina! Are you alright?”

“I don’t think that’s a question you ask a patient.”

“Yep. Just like this!” Sharnid walked into the room, smiling flippantly as he winked at a nurse walking past in the corridor. Harley was right behind him.

It was the morning of a weekend. Nina put aside the book she was reading.

“What’re you reading? Ugh, a textbook! And it’s 'Military Arts Principles I'……Why’re you reading this now?”

Nina nodded as she confirmed the Dites hanging around Sharnid’s waist.

“Because I have something I need to relearn.”

“Haha, even though you fainted all of a sudden, you’re still so serious,” Sharnid shrugged.

“Forget it. What about today’s match? Is it okay not to watch it?”

“If you want to know, I can bring you the disc later. Because of the sudden holiday, it was too abrupt to arrange a date, so I’ve got time on my hands.”

If so, then just go and watch the match. But Nina didn’t say that. Harley’s smile lacked his usual cheerfulness, and that bothered her.

“But it’s tragic to faint due to over-exhaustion. And you’re still so serious about it after fainting; I greatly admire our captain.”

“……I’m sorry,” Nina apologized, lowering her head.

“No, no…” Sharnid said. “I don’t want you to reflect on this. I’ve that that sort of thing many times already…… besides, I have something else to talk about today. Sorry I have to push back visiting the patient.”

“Something else?”

Sharnid snatched up his Dite. “For someone who’s not in a team, my words probably don’t mean much……” He said as he deftly spun the larger-than-palm-sized Dite.

“Everyone has secrets, but there are two types: ones that don’t matter, and ones that people take notice of. I don’t care if it’s the former type, but the latter……”

A rapid movement from him.

The Dite restored in his hand in the blink of an eye and it was pointed right at Harley.

[[Image:CSR vol02 243.jpg|thumb]]

“Sharnid!” Nina said loudly. A smile still hung on Sharnid’s face. As for Harley, he was frozen stiff at the sudden Dite’s appearance.

“If my comrade’s keeping secrets, then I can’t move freely, cuz I’ll worry that he’ll stab me in the back. For example, whether this guy would shoot the wrong target…Something like that,” Sharnid stared closely at his Dite pressing down on Harley’s forehead.

Meaning he was suspecting Harley?

“How could that be?” Nina said.

“Harley is my childhood friend. He’ll never betray me.”

“I don’t doubt this guy’s skill, and I don’t think he’ll betray the team, but it seems we were the only two left out.”

“What?” Nina looked at Harley. Resignation filled his stiff expression.

“Harley?”

“……Sorry.”

“The weapon you made in haste a while ago was for Layfon, right? That ridiculously huge sword, just what was it for?”

Nina remembered, but she had never suspected Harley. Recently, she was only thinking about herself.

“What do you guys plan for the ridiculously strong Layfon with that type of a weapon? I think I can guess. Felli’s with you guys and that's enough confirmation. But if it’s possible, I want to hear it from you.”

Nina kept silent.

“Sorry,” Harley’s lips were clamped tight against each other.

Slightly shaky lips opened again.

Nina had forgotten her own breathing, and the same feeling remained with her as she listened.

After that……

The nurse went in to deliver lunch, and seeing the bed empty, she ran out into the corridor.

<center>◇</center>

Layfon arrived at his destination shortly after noon.

He drank down protein paste with a straw, and confirmed the information conveyed through Felli’s flake.

The high and jutting mountain gave off an unapproachable bearing.

The scene appeared on his helmet.

The inert filth monster was fastened onto the surface of the mountain, its posture almost the same as the image in the second photo. The filth monster’s body had slightly expanded. Its length, from head to tail, was long like a snake’s. Two insect-like wings extended from its back. Muddy green veins spread across the tattered wings, which were weakened to such an extent that they were bent, almost broken off, by the wind.

Legs were attached to the curled body of the filth monster, and the claws of the forelegs weren’t dug into the wall of the mountain. The filth monster must be degenerating. A thin layer of white covered its green compound eye.

The prey whose nutritious value was much higher than the pollutants…the filth monster made no reaction to the prey, the human standing within reach.

As if it was dead.

But what about the sudden chill he felt?

“How is it?” Felli said.

“A Phase 4 or 5 male. I can tell that from its shriveled legs.”

“Is it that thing in the photo?”

“The filth monsters lose their legs every time they molt……Uh, females are different. They stay underground when they’re laying eggs.”

He dismounted the bike and took out two Dites from his harness.

In his right hand was the special Dite that Harley made.

“When its body’s grown old, its legs will completely degenerate. This is the mature phase. Once the male fully degenerates, it’ll be able to fly, and that is its cruelest and wildest form. Next is the second maturation phase with increasing functions and variations. The form of a Phase 2 is never stable.”

“Fon Fon?”

Leaning stiffly against the bike, he tried to relax his body. It was meaningless to get anxious now. He allowed his Kei to run through his body.

“Just like its unstable appearance, it’s also hard to judge the filth monster’s level of strength. We have to be particularly wary of Phase 2 filth monsters. If this filth monster is in its first phase, then there’re still ways to handle it.”

“What are they?” Incomprehension seeped through Felli’s voice, but Layfon wasn’t paying attention.

“A Phase 2 filth monster is rare, so perhaps there’s no need to be concerned, or it’s simply not possible to recognize it. But there is a difference between knowing and not knowing. If one knows, then one can take appropriate action. Please remember, sometimes Phase 2 filth monsters don’t attack humans because they’ve learned to be more than simply violent.”

“Fon Fon……What’re you saying?”

“Something that might be my last words.”

Cracking noises. As if the air was rent apart. A loud noise hiding the sound of a secret’s breath. The chill on Layfon’s skin turned into needle sharp pain. As the noise increased in intensity, the tattered wings collapsed and the scales covering the filth monster’s body peeled off in flakes. The entire compound eye popped out and rolled down the side of the mountain.

Felli’s voice intruded. “I've got a report……Zuellni’s changed direction. The entire city’s made a rapid turn.”

“As expected……”

Now he knew why Zuellni kept moving straight before. The city hadn’t discovered the filth monster, or maybe it thought it was only a corpse. In the end, Zuellni found out it wasn’t that at all, so it changed its route.

“Fon Fon…This is……”

“It’s molting. This is my first time seeing this, but it has to be that.”

“Zuellni’s changed direction……Please escape!”

Layfon ignored her. “Restoration 01,” he said the key word, restoring the Dite in his left hand. The green blade tore through the air.

“It’s too late. This guy was waiting. After molting……It holds a different body type and will get hungrier than usual. It was suppressing its molting moment until the prey got too close. The reason why a Phase 2 filth monster is particularly aggressive is because of its extreme hunger.”

It was too late for Layfon to escape. The filth monster had waited for the smell of prey to get close, to the point where it couldn’t escape. Layfon readied his fighting stance and increased the amount and density of his Internal Kei. The back of the monster split into two and sticky body fluid oozed from it, down the face of the mountain in many branches.

Low howling made the air vibrate. The filth monster announced its rebirth, lifting itself from the empty shell to spread its pure and moisture-filled wings. The intense red of the wings stained the sky.

The liquid covering its head fell off, revealing a head different from before. A long protruding jaw, sharp teeth on the outside, diamond blue light like a human’s eyes……It looked very similar to an insect.

“Phase 1……Please remember. You can defeat this monster if you are prepared to sacrifice half a city.”

He connected the end of the restored Dite to the end of the other Dite in his right hand. He grasped hold of the connected Dites carefully with his right hand then charged forward.

Internal-type Kei – Whirl Kei.

Strengthening his feet, he leaped onto the face of the mountain.

The monster’s wings vibrated as the liquid enveloping its body shot out, painting rainbows around it. It must have caught the scent of countless humans in Zuellni. The filth monster’s nose pointed directly behind Layfon.

The steel threads bounded up the entire filth monster, the action quiet as a mouse.

The filth monster kept on ascending without signs of slowing. The difference between their two sizes was too huge. Unable to suppress his opponent, Layfon was lifted up to dangle in midair.

''(If it were Lintence, he could cut off its wings like this……)''

As expected, its shell was much harder than a larva’s……He wondered how Nina and the others would think of him if they saw him like this……As he returned his attention to the current situation, he focused on binding the monster tighter.

Intense vibration shot down his wrist. The wings beat fast and rapid, and the steel threads bounced off them.

“It still isn’t working……”

Layfon didn’t have the time to try another tactic and aim at the base of the wings. The filth monster was now in the air and it could head for Zuellni whenever it wanted. Layfon let the steel threads loose into two bundles; one binding the filth monster, the other shot into the face of the mountain.

“I’ll have it land.”

The monster rumbled in pain. Its body twisted and its wings danced more intensely, but the monster failed to ascend. At the same time, keen wailing came from the mountain.

Layfon removed the part of the combined Dite that was anchoring the steel threads in the mountain, then twisted in midair to land on one of the steel threads and ran across it, his face green and stiff, as if he was performing in a circus. While running, he took out the rest of the Dites from his harness and inserted them into the holes in Harley’s Dite.

“Restoration AD,” he said as Kei flowed through his entire body.

Heavy weight burst out from him at the weight of the weapon and the power flowing in his body. The steel thread dipped, and he used the momentum of its rebound to jump up to the filth monster’s back.

A huge blade was born in Layfon’s hand.

Three different types of Dites…Combined with a Dite that was already an amalgamation of different alloys. This feat wasn’t possible before.

But the end product was just a different type of Dite. It wasn’t particularly special in any way.

The new Dite maintained and combined all the advantages of three types of Dite. There was a disadvantage though. It wasn’t possible to reduce the weight and density of the restored forms of the three types of Dites, so Layfon was practically holding four weapons.

Any normal person would have had trouble controlling that weight.

He landed on its back. Using his left wrist, he reeled in a steel thread anchored in the mountain, all the time running, dragging the huge blade with him.

His targets were the wings.

He headed for the left wing. Furious winds buffeted him, but he shot through them using Internal Kei. He raised the sword and chopped down. The red of the wing scattered. The monster howled, not in pain, as the wing had no nerves, but because it lost its balance.

The filth monster sloped to one side. Layfon released the sword and retrieved it using a steel thread. Letting loose the steel thread looped around his left wrist, he ran up the back of the monster.

He jumped and descended. He had wanted to shoot out a steel thread to reduce his falling speed, but there wasn’t anything above him to latch onto.

A shockwave on the ground signalled the filth monster’s landing. The wind rolled back from the monster and caught some of Layfon’s weight as he landed.

The filth monster struggled to its feet. Blood filled its raging eye as it watched Layfon, the small creature who was interfering with its dinner. Its starving and furious gaze seemed to be enough to stop a person’s heart.

“How long does it take to regenerate your wing? Two days? Three? As long as there’s a big enough gap, then Zuellni can escape……” Layfon murmured, feeling the wetness coming from inside his armor-suit.

He was sweating profusely.

The murderous intent of a Phase 1 filth monster was this amazing.

But more focus than that was needed for him to cut off its wing.

“How long will it take you to die of hunger? One week? Or one month? I’ll play with you no matter how long it takes.”

The filth monster had used up all of its stored nutrients to enter the first maturity phase. It didn’t have enough strength to molt a second time.

Layfon couldn’t run. This thought caused his stubbornness to lift its head, and that was enough indication of his collapsing will to fight. If this continued, an opening would appear for the teeth of the filth monster to sink into.

The monster headed straight for Layfon, its body waving away the clouds of dust and its movements generating more dust. It had no legs as it had already given them up in the molting process, but its snake-like movements were fast even without legs.

This huge body of the filth monster in itself was a weapon, its every scale hard and sharp. Even if it didn’t make direct contact with Layfon, a brush with it could tear open Layfon’s armor-suit.

Although Layfon had taken away the opponent’s advantage by forcing it to move on the ground, he himself was still at a disadvantage.

“Fon Fon……”

Layfon leapt back into the close pressure of death.

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“I think if it’s him, he can do it……I admit I didn’t consider fully in my passion to invent the new Dite, but I really think he can do it!”

Harley’s voice hovered in Nina’s mind.

The sound of the running bike shook her entire body. The sun shone overhead. The temperature should be cold, but she felt hot. This must be because of the armor-suit.

Seated in the sidecar with nothing to do but sit still, she wasn’t at all impatient and anxious because……

“But looking at him, I thought I might have been wrong. Layfon - He, how should I put it……He was very serious. Of course he’d have such a reaction encountering this event. He has to fight a filth monster alone……His reaction is natural, but I don’t feel that that’s the only reason.”

The bike flew across the earth.

Sharnid was the driver. Only one set of armor-suit had been improved, so Nina and Sharnid wore the old type of armor-suit. They had worn it once when they were on a training mission outside the city. This old type restricted the body’s movements, but it was better than wearing nothing.

But even if she could move more deftly, what could the present Nina do?

After listening to Harley, Nina went to find Karian at the office of the Student President. He received her with an expression free of guilt.

“Just what is this?!” Nina said angrily.

“Nothing. Layfon-kun said he doesn’t need any help. I believe in him. Believing is different from abandoning.”

Nina’s fist pounded down on the desk. The documents rose an inch and the pen holder swayed. The fountain pen next to the documents rolled to the side.

Her hand hurt.

“……He also said, don’t let anyone get close.”

“Huh?”

Picking up the pen which was about to fall off, Karian turned it about skillfully with his fingers.

“It seems a fight with a filth monster is dangerous. I can’t tell how dangerous since I’m not a Military Artist, but it seems that one would die while looking for somewhere safe. He said he doesn’t need anyone to wait for orders in a safety zone in that type of battlefield. There are only two outcomes in a battle with filth monsters outside a city – either come back alive, or die. He said we had better be mentally prepared……”

Nina held her breath. That was all she could do.

Layfon was all alone out there……

Her fist tightened on the desk. Her muscles still hurt. Her condition was hardly normal in this present state. If she tried to generate a Kei flow, her waist would hurt painfully.

What could she do in this situation?

But she couldn’t stop herself.

“Please let me go.”

“And what do you plan to do there?” Karian’s question was reasonable. “I understand your condition. Even if I don’t know the details, as President, I can’t allow a pale-faced student to enter that dangerous a place.”

“He’s my subordinate and my comrade. Even if we can’t fight together, at least let me go and rescue him……”

She didn’t know what she could do to help out.

But when she said “comrade”, she could imagine Layfon’s genuine smile.

“Mmm……Okay. I’ll give you permission to use a bike. My sister will guide you.”

“Thank you.”

“But you must come back alive. Escape immediately if the situation turns bad.”

“……I won’t run away.”

“You people are the only ones who can keep this city alive.”

“Layfon’s the same,” Nina said and ran out of the room.

She was now riding the bike. The problem was, what could she do to help?

Only a few days ago……Layfon was alone, pondering on how to the fight the filth monster without telling anyone. Facing the him like that, what could she do?

She and Layfon differed in strength and experiences, but fighting as a platoon and fighting the filth monsters were different things.

Even so, she couldn’t continue her normal daily life not knowing what was going on outside.

Didn’t Sharnid say that there were two types of secrets? Ones that mattered and ones that didn’t?

This was a secret she was concerned about. She couldn’t stay hidden in the dark.

''(We aren’t the only ones who want you to live.)''

The sender of that letter must feel the same. That letter was written with ease, worry and jealousy. It was clear that the girl felt something for Layfon. To leave this person behind in a place where only one choice, life or death, was possible…Just what was Layfon thinking?

''(Perhaps that’s what she meant by “difference?")''

Pain rose in Nina’s chest. Was this what Leerin meant when she said in the letter that she was happy Layfon didn’t give up the Military Arts but she didn’t want him to become the Layfon of Grendan?

Thinking of this, a tightness spread through Nina’s chest.

''(Aaa!)''

She chased away the uneasiness inside her. What she wanted to know wasn’t how much Leerin knew of Layfon, but what Layfon’s true intention was in this fight.

For him to head alone into this kind of a place.

Even if it was the fate that no Military Artist could escape from.

She didn’t know what to do if she failed to find out.

''(Just what is he thinking……)''

And……

''(What do I do after I find out?)''

If she didn’t understand that either, she felt she had no way to move forward.

Did this concern belong to the future? Or was it because of her present self……She wasn’t too clear on the question itself.

“……You’re almost there,” Felli’s voice came through.

Fatigue came through Felli’s voice. Nina never knew Felli’s psychokinesis could reach this far. This made her acknowledge once more just how ignorant she was of her team members’ strength.

''(I’ll think about that later……)''

“What is it?”

“Hey, over there……” Sharnid said before Felli did. He shook his head and pointed ahead.

The bike entered a dust cloud.

And this was what Nina saw after a while.

The deserted ground looked as if someone had been madly slashing at it, and in that ground laid a huge, deep gutter. The sand and dust fluttering around were proof of it.

A lone shadow had fallen inside that gutter.

Nina’s hand pressed down on her chest, her heart tightened.

Sharnid slowed down the bike, heading towards the dark shadow.

It was the bike that Layfon had taken with him, but Layfon himself was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is he……?” She couldn’t see properly through the dancing sand, but something was certain.

She didn’t get it. The mountain where the filth monster had fastened itself onto should be right ahead of them. But it was gone.

“Felli, where’s Layfon?”

Felli didn’t reply.

They were already one day late. Was Layfon all right?

“Answer me. Is he all right?”

“He’s okay, but……”

“But…? What’s it?”

“He said don’t get closer. Run far away.”

“What did you say?”

And the sound of some distant explosion filled her eardrums, and she saw a dark shape spattering the sky.

A huge rock was descending towards Nina and Sharnid.

<center>◇</center>

In an instant, his concentration broke.

Something had happened, but he had immediately focused back on the task before him.

It seemed to be some information…And he had shouted out something in panic.

The break in concentration was almost fatal.

Layfon didn’t have time to remember it. He didn’t dig through his memories as he had no time to think or do anything extraneous to the battle.

Because if he did that, then death awaited him.

The huge monster filled Layfon’s entire vision. It roared as its body batted at Layfon. The steel threads flew at the filth monster’s tail and wrapped around it. The tail thrashed, pulling Layfon up and down, as if Layfon was a fish struggling off a hook.

When Layfon stopped spinning, he lowered himself – His destination was the filth monster’s head.

The filth monster seemed wounded. It seemed to have been buried quite deep, and it still hadn’t managed to shake loose the rubble on top of it.

The huge sword chopped down towards its body.

The scales resisted the sword point, but in one swift movement, Layfon had pierced through the tough outer-shell - only to feel yet another resistance, another layer of scales.

“!”

It was one layer after another. Every time the sword hit a scale, sparks lit up. Bathed in a shower of sparks, Layfon realized he had failed. His usual self could have torn through the monster like it was paper……But why couldn’t he do it?

At this rate, the filth monster’s flesh would have swallowed Layfon’s blade. Before that happened, Layfon had turned the blade around. He grasped hold of the handle again and put his foot on the monster’s back. He pulled the steel threads to confirm they were anchored about one Jimel ahead of him in the mountain face, then he ‘pulled’ again as he kicked at the monster’s back. As Layfon was torn skyward, the huge blade leaped out of the flesh. Red blood sprayed from the filth monster’s wound.

Layfon landed on the ground.

He turned around quickly to face the monster and he looked down at the Dite.

Smoke rose from one of the Dites inserted into the three holes. A closer look revealed small cracks along the Dite. Its colour also looked different.

“One’s broken……”

He took out that Dite and tossed it away.

Although the Dite had the strength to maintain its form, that strength was limited. It had managed to hang on till now because of its high density, but now it was broken.

The combined Dite felt lighter in his hand. This different feel might cause the next fatal error, but he couldn’t stop fighting.

He watched the filth monster.

Many scales had fallen off its body. Blood spurted from its wound. It had lost too much blood. Slabs of something black fell off from its body.

It had also lost half of its remaining wing. To Layfon, the filth monster looked like a gigantic snake prostrated on the ground……But the scales covering its body weren’t as smooth as a snake’s. They were as tough and sharp as rocks.

Layfon had destroyed its left eye. The blood flow seeping from under that shattered eye had slowed. The wound must be recovering. Layfon didn’t know whether the filth monster would regenerate the nerves in its eyes. He had no wish to find out.

So hot……The ventilation function of the armor-suit had reached its limit. Layfon’s sweat became steam.

He knew his concentration was slipping.

“Damn!”

He refocused himself. He wanted to defeat this monster without sustaining any injuries. While doing that was nearly impossible, how could he get distracted?

He didn’t plan to die. Although he did say something to Felli that might be his last words, still, it was just a possibility. He hadn’t had time to talk with her properly since the fight began. As for last words…All he needed was to smile after returning safely to Zuellni.

The filth monster struggled to get up. It must be because of the heavy wound in its head. The monster didn't seem to know where it was while its anger increased with every passing second. Its rough and wild movements sent sand flying everywhere, and the various wounds on its body sprayed out more blood.

''(I’ll rest a little before it finds out where I am.)''

Layfon didn’t know how much time he’d get to rest. He might not even have one minute, but all he needed was a gap in the fight so he could generate more Kei and let it fill his body. It was painful that he had nothing to replace the water and salt he had lost. He licked his lip and tasted something salty – his sweat.

“Fon Fon……Can you talk?”

How long had it been since he last heard her?

“Ahah…...How long has it been?”

“About a day.”

“I see……”

''(I should be able to stay up for two more days without water.)''

He thought as he watched the filth monster. It hadn’t discovered him yet.

“And……?”

“Well……It’s about the captain.”

“The captain? What’s happened to her?”

“……I said before that the captain and Sharnid-senpai are heading this way. Though you said they were to retreat……Don’t you remember?”

Now he knew why he had lost his concentration.

“Ah……Sorry, I don’t. Did they retreat?”

The astonishment back then felt so far away from him. Felli’s question wasn't because she doubted him. She said it out of obligation.

Although he was resting, he didn’t let down his guard. He was still focused on the fight, so everything else felt far away from him.

“Well……”

He had no time to listen to her.

It had discovered him.

What should he do?

He felt uneasy at the lighter weight of the Dite, but it wasn’t just because he had lost one of the Dites. The clumsy feel of the Kei flow indicated that the combined Dites themselves had sustained a certain level of damage after a fight that lasted one entire day.

''(How many moves can I still execute?)''

Compared to his physical strength, the weapon itself might be the first to fail. This wouldn’t have happened if he had the Heaven's Blade with him.

Fighting to his limit, he realized for the first time how rare and valuable the Heaven's Blade was. That was strange. Did he not have the vision to understand that?

“It’s useless to make excuses.”

He had decided what he had to do. In that case, all he needed to do was finish his duty.

He would defeat the filth monster with one move, so he must find an opening.

As he thought of this, the enemy made a peculiar movement.

“Uh……?”

It didn’t seem to intend to attack him. As if it was getting distracted.

Layfon followed it…And his concentration broke again.

A small dust cloud. A bike with a sidecar……It wasn’t the one that Layfon rode on.

Yes, the filth monster was looking at it.

“How could they come here!?”

Although he couldn’t tell who they were as they were wearing armor-suits, he was sure they were Nina and Sharnid.

He leaped up to a steel thread and ran towards them, using Whirl Kei.

Sharnid’s shower of bullets had little effect on the filth monster. As Layfon passed their position, he felt Nina’s eyes stabbing his face. Perhaps he was being oversensitive. And like that, he appeared in front of the filth monster. His body suddenly bounded upwards.

Flying in the air, supported by the steel thread, Layfon turned the huge sword around and swung down to cut open the monster’s forehead.

He flew back as blood mixed with a howling noise shot high into the air. Layfon landed on the moving bike.

[[Image:CSR vol02 275.jpg|thumb]]
“Layfon!?”

“Why are you here!?” he asked angrily and looked back at the filth monster.

It was on a rampage as the pain twisted its long body. The feeling in Layfon’s hand told him he had failed in delivering a fatal strike to the brain.

And……

He looked at his Dite. Smoke rose from another hole. That couldn’t be helped as he had tried to cut through the already tough scales along with the even harder forehead bone.

''(The strike I have left……)''

Feeling the lightness of the weapon, he made his decision.

''(Then what?)''

He still had his own green Dite that he could use to buy time. He had been using its steel threads as support so it hadn’t sustained any heavy damage. But if he used his last move, he’d forego the steel threads move that had helped him escape countless times. Losing that option would be a huge setback for him.

Perhaps this was better than losing his chance to attack, but he would be forcing himself into a dead end. Buying time would ensure Zuellni could move to safety, but if he did that, he’d lose his life.

And there were also Nina and Sharnid……

This was the only way…To determine the outcome of the fight before he lost use of the steel threads.

And it was a highly dangerous gamble. If he failed, he’d die, Nina and Sharnid would die, Zuellni might also die. Everything would vanish.

Should he bet everything on the last move……He hesitated.

“Hey, are you listening?”

“No……Anyway, you guys hurry up and escape.”

“Listen up! Your bike’s broken. This is the only vehicle that still works.”

“As long as I beat this guy, people will come to get me.”

“Can you defeat it?”

“……”

“That weapon’s at its limit. Can you really beat it with this thing?”

“……It’s starting to move. I have to go!”

He had no answer for her. He hadn’t the confidence that she’d agree with his answer. His only reply was to head out and fight.

Sharnid pulled him back by his collar, steering the bike with one hand.

“Aaa, wait!”

“Please let go of me!”

“It’s rare for the captain to order others to listen to her.”

“I’ll use force.”

“It’s fine if you tear off my arm. Please go ahead.”

In reality, if he pulled himself out of Sharnid’s grasp with Kei, he really might just end up tearing Sharnid’s arm off. And even if that didn’t happen, the bike might lose its balance and flip over.

“It’s too embarrassing to come out here and not do anything. That's how it is for me, and the same goes for the injured captain. The 17th platoon can’t embarrass its captain!”

“I hadn’t that order before.”

“Same here. I just made that decision.”

By looking at Sharnid’s back, Layfon could tell he was smiling.

“Have you got a plan?” Nina said. “Are you absolutely sure that you can win with your next move?”

She had even seen through this.

“……Yes. It’s the wound on its forehead. If I strike there again……”

The scales were shattered. Half of the forehead bone was probably cracked……If he struck there.

The wound must be healing, but not the scales and the bone. If he could stab its brain and release his Kei there……But Nina had calmly pointed out the uneasiness he felt about that move.

“Do you have a plan that can take you there and make sure you strike it on its head?”

“……”

“Okay.” Nina nodded. “Then we’ve increased our chance of success.”

“Heh?”

“You were listening in, Felli? Find the setting I want nearby. Hurry.”

Then Nina listed out her conditions of the place she had in mind.

“It’s near. Head southwest. It’s about 20 Jimels from you.”

“Sharnid.”

“Roger, captain.” He changed the bike’s direction.

“Layfon, will the filth monster leave us?”

“Huh?……Probably not. It moves faster than this bike.”

“Then buy enough time for us to head for that place. Don’t damage your weapon.”

“With this……”

He could interfere with the filth monster’s movements using the steel threads.

“Keep at it.”

He nodded reflexively.

How should he put it? It was a feeling of suddenly being swallowed. He saw Nina’s face through the helmet and the armor-suit……He looked at that face and the tension he held wavered.

He felt more at ease.

Should he be comforted by the wavering of the destructive pressure on him? Or be alarmed at it……He wasn’t sure. Even so, he felt a part of him wasn’t able to deny Nina.

He continued to control the steel threads.

Twenty Jimels.

He focused on buying them time.

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They arrived at a valley surrounded by cliff faces. Green plants and clear water might have once flourished here. Now the valley was dry, extremely dry.

Nina had explained her plan as they rode the bike. They looked back at the slope, as if waiting for something to fly into its mouth.

“How long till that guy catches up?”

“Three minutes.”

Nina nodded. “We’re getting off. It’s impossible to drive the bike here. Sharnid, take the bike to the firing position. Layfon, carry me.”

Felli explained the terrain and Nina asked a few questions based on Felli’s information. It seemed just by doing that, she had already formed an accurate map in her head. Layfon dismounted, clear about instructions he had received.

The sound of shattering rocks came closer.

The filth monster was already here.

“Hurry!”

Layfon carried her deeper into the valley.

“Is this really all right?” he asked, uncomfortable with how light she was in his arms.

“The plan will be successful as long as that thing stops moving, right?”

Layfon nodded on the bike.

“It’s hungry, so it’ll rush straight for food, right?”

Layfon nodded again.

“Well, all we need is bait……No need to think of anything else.”

“……Captain?”

“Limit your enemy’s movements and turn the situation into your advantage. That’s a basic tactic.”

“You aren’t thinking of……”

“I’ll act as bait. Who else can do this besides me? Sharnid’s got his mission and you have to give it its fatal strike. If you do everything, including what’s unnecessary, isn’t that the same as what you’ve been doing in the past?”

“That was how I did things in Grendan.”

He had always done things this way. To change his way now……

“Weren’t there many people to replace you in Grendan? Aren’t there twelve Heaven's Blade Receivers? So eleven people could replace you. Even if you fall, there are still other ways, so you fought with those kinds of tactics. But nobody can replace you in Zuellni. Grendan and Zuellni are different. Grendan’s way is not my way. You’re my subordinate. I can’t just leave you.”

“But……” Layfon stopped speaking. Her determination in her eyes. Her furrowing eyebrows as if she was glaring at him, as if she was staring at him with trembling eyes…He felt he was being sucked into them.

Those eyes suddenly turned gentle.

“You want to abandon the you of Grendan, don’t you?”

“……But, I can’t.”

Because the threat of meeting filth monsters existed everywhere.

“It’s okay to abandon it.”

“Heh?” His eyes widened in astonishment.

“Your desire to protect Zuellni arose after you came to the Academy City, right? Then treasure it. As for your way of fighting, living and thinking in Grendan…… leave them all. It’s enough to protect Zuellni. Leave everything.”

“……”

“You don't think that helps you? But, that’s how I feel and how the person waiting for you in Grendan feels. Isn’t that what was written in the letter?”

“Letter……?”

“I can repeat this as many times as you want. I won’t let you, my comrade and subordinate, die. I’ll do whatever it takes to reach that goal!”

An intense light emitted once again from those gentle eyes. A determination that would never bend and break. Those eyes were what made him swallow his words. Looking at his image in them, Layfon nodded.

“I understand. Then, I’ll hold senpai’s life in my hands for a bit.”

“Stop talking nonsense,” she laughed. “I’m the captain. Your lives are in my hands.”

<center>◇</center>

Nina was all alone in the valley.

Trees once stood here. Clear water once flowed. Fish once swam, and everything must have been filled with birdsongs. Lives drowned the earth as a matter of course. The lives were short, but creatures continued to sing out the song of life’s chains.

Something white was stuck to the rocks. They were probably the bones of some fish.

It was a life that failed to keep on living.

The world had shriveled up. And the reason behind that…How did the pollutants manage to spread across the entire world? Some said it was a material created from humanity’s insolence when human civilization reached its peak. Some said it just happened all of a sudden. And Nina had heard of many other different explanations. She didn’t know which was the truth, and didn’t know whether there was meaning in looking back at the past. Everyone else now only lived in Regios, living under the threat of filth monsters.

Nina hated that feeling. Couldn’t something be done? She wanted to do something about it.

She hated herself for being born into a narrow world. She wanted to see other worlds. It didn’t matter if it was just a tiny outside world, and so she had come to Zuellni. But she still understood how useless she was, even though she had reached Zuellni. She understood more of the cruelty of this world and her own insignificance, her own weakness.

Surviving in this world, what she should do, what she could do……

She wanted to keep on living.

And to survive, she must become stronger. Because she lived in this kind of world, she must become stronger. Because heaven blessed her with the power of Kei, she must become stronger. That was what she thought.

Except for a small failure.

She didn’t think she was entirely in the wrong. She just didn’t use the correct way. And now, the Layfon who corrected her was making the same mistake.

To Nina, Layfon’s mistake was a small failure on his part, since he didn’t know where he stood. In that case, she had to wake him up.

The rumbling closed in.

It was the filth monster, the existence on the very top of the pyramid. Covered in wounds, the creature headed towards Nina, driven by nothing but hunger.

Compared to the injuries that Layfon had sustained……If Layfon and the filth monster kept on fighting, which side would win?

She recalled she had been pondering on what the strongest existence was not long ago. Filth monsters lived in a larger world than humans, a world that humans could not enter without protection. On this level, the filth monsters were the strongest.

In the filth monster’s starving stage, fighting for the most basic requirement of life, pollutants weren’t enough for it.

So it had to eat humans.

Compared to this creature, humans lived in their own worlds without having to worry about food. Looking from this perspective, just who was stronger?

“What boring thinking.”

The dominating presence neared Nina, its gaze piercing her like teeth. She couldn’t help but imagine her tiny body being crushed by those sharp and gigantic teeth, her organs rolling on the tongue of the massive monster.

“Is this the world that he sees……”

Facing this horror alone, Nina’s legs shook. The present her who was unable to use Kei was too weak. Besides, even if she could use Kei, what could she do? This must be the decisive gap in strength between humanity and filth monsters.

Layfon had been facing this type of creature all alone.

“I won’t let you do this alone from now on,” she said to the subordinate who was nowhere beside her.

But he should be able to hear her.

“You have me and your comrades.”

A sound.

A tiny sound compared to the rumbling of the filth monster, but it echoed in the sky and in Nina’s ears.

One side of the cliff face suddenly collapsed.

Caused by Sharnid’s sniping.

The sudden avalanche of rocks, sand and soil descended on the filth monster and towards Nina. The creature howled anew.

Nina’s body shot upward.

A long thin thread……A steel thread was wrapped around her body. She saw him as she was pulled up.

A figure that brushed past her, descending rapidly……Layfon.

He plunged straight for the trapped enemy, his ravaged sword pointing downward.

Nina confirmed her plan was successful.

<noinclude>
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| Back to [[Chrome_Shelled_Regios:Volume2_Chapter4|Chapter 4]]
| Return to [[Chrome_Shelled_Regios|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Chrome_Shelled_Regios:Volume2_Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Chrome Shelled Regios:Volume2 Chapter4

2009-12-07T09:23:33Z

Sonatazz:

===Chapter 4: Run the entire lap===

At the same time Layfon was whispering to himself……

The heavy iron whips hung listless from her hands. Nina felt like she was suffocating, unable to stop her panting. She was sucking in air, yet her body wanted more. Despite the pain, she attempted to slow down her breathing.

She was so exhausted that her legs shook and pleaded with her to lie down, but she desperately kept standing, and slowly let her body cool off. Proper breathing technique was basic for controlling Kei. She mustn’t disturb it. Her body must not rest immediately. Everything had to gradually calm down.

On top of the drumming of blood bombarding her ears, the sound of friction from the movements of gigantic multi-legs of the city echoed from below. The city’s edge was the only place right now that was quiet and secluded enough, a place without people where Nina would not be scolded.

“……Great!”

Gaining control of her breathing, she lifted the iron whips again. In fact, she looked as if she was forcing herself, but she could keep going as long as she extended her Kei through her entire body. She controlled her breathing for that purpose.

Conscious and aware of the place she was standing, the place where Layfon had shown his strength, Nina danced alone with the iron whips.

What could she do to become stronger?

Basic moves flowed into more complicated moves.

When using a weapon, most moves were variations of the three stages of movement: retrieve, hold with increasing strength, and attack. For a sword, it was slash. For a spear or staff, it was stab and hit.

It wasn’t meaningless to repeat her moves. While the mind failed to keep up at the other end of the ladder, the body instinctively repeated familiar movements. The repetitive movements increased Nina’s physical strength, which would be helpful when she fought.

“Fu…Ha, ha, ha, ha……”

And then she rested again. Controlling her breathing, she took out a towel from her bag to wipe away her sweat. When the school year started, a bone-chilling cold would immediately cool down the body, but it was better now. Even at night. Zuellni was probably heading towards a warmer climate. Because of that, the heat from Nina's body took some time to dissipate. Irritated at the sweat continuously pouring from her skin, she lifted her head to watch the night sky through the invisible air shield.

And like that, she sat down on the ground.

The cold, hard ground felt good to her. Exhausted and feeling she hadn't the strength to stand up again, she sat there to look at the sky. Only a half moon floated above her, with the endless darkness serving as a backdrop. The existence of the moon seemed to point to the boundary of the night.

The iron whips, turned back into simple Dites, fell to Nina’s sides. Still gazing at the moon, she touched them with her fingers. To look at the moon as if reflected in her eyes, she felt for an instant that she could touch it. She didn’t reach out a hand. It was embarrassing, and she knew she couldn’t possibly touch the moon.

“……It’s so far away,” she said.

As if it was within reach, but it actually wasn’t. The moon existed between illusion and reality. It made people think it was within reach, but it was billions of Jimels away from Nina. Her arm wasn't long enough to touch the moon.

Even so, she thought there was must be a way.

If her arm wasn’t long enough, then she’d fly up there……

“Ah……”

She laughed, knowing how ridiculous it was. She couldn’t fly in the sky. This dream was meaningless. What was meaningful was her weakness, for wanting to rely on such an unrealistic way to reach the moon.

“This…Won’t do.”

She didn’t think it was meaningless to repeat the moves she’d learned, as they were directly related to her growth. She had been training like this from the very beginning. The very beginning, when she knew she had discovered Kei and decided to become a Military Artist.
She didn’t think she would become strong all of a sudden by repeating the same movements.

Was there a faster way……?

She understood that was just a wish. A wish not grounded in reality. She couldn’t help but think of it though, and that irritated her.

“Damn!”

She should become stronger if she trained at this pace. She believed if she was industrious and put more time and effort into it, she could catch up to Layfon. But how much time would she need to reach his level? One year? Two years? Impossible……It wasn’t that simple.

She had only reached her current level, after living all these years. One or two years of hard work weren’t enough for her to catch up to Layfon, who was one, three, probably many more times stronger than her.

And she didn’t even have one year.

“I won’t make it!”

What she needed wasn’t a possibility in the future, but what she could reach for now. To balance the unbalanced 17th platoon, she must become stronger. Only she could make it happen. She had decided to protect Zuellni.

“Can't I make it?”

Her hand slowly moved from the iron whip towards the moon.

Her finger caressed the air and touched the moon before her eyes.

Imagining touch.

Imagining success.

Yet she knew this was meaningless……

“Ahhhh!”

Watching the hazy moon, she lowered her wrist. Was this bitter regret or jealousy? Facing the Layfon who possessed what she desired……

And……That letter.

She had read the letter that had fallen out of the envelope. The impatience and anxiety inside her became more intense after she read the letter, along with her growing desire to catch up to him.

She didn’t know what to think of Leerin, the girl who understood Layfon more than Nina did.

Increasing anxiety. Irritation.

“Is this the end?”

She wiped the sweat off her brow and suddenly stood up.

“It can’t end here!”

She picked up the iron whips.

The night was still long. Time was limited, but it should be enough. She believed so……

“HA!”

She started her flow of Kei.

<center>◇</center>

The next platoon match was set for next weekend.

A sigh burst out of Layfon.

He hadn’t had a chance to see Nina recently.

It wasn’t easy to bump into her as they were in different grades. During training, time passed without giving them room to chat privately, and once training finished, Nina left the room immediately.

They hadn’t even met in the Engine Room. Somehow, they had been separated and placed in different groups. They now had different janitorial responsibilities.

Losing the chance to talk to Nina forced him further from the truth. Moreover, he didn’t have much spare time as he had to test Harley’s invention and attend meetings with Karian and the other Alchemists.

Although he didn't have the time to stand still, he wasn't worried about it.

But–

“How come you seem to be so busy these days?” Mifi asked.

It was now lunch break. They were eating Meishen’s special bento on the rooftop of the school building. Long benches lined the metal fences around the rooftop.

“Huh? Do I look that way?”

“Yeah.”

“……Mmh,” Meishen nodded.

Layfon scratched his head.

“We wanted to hang out with you after you were done with training, but you’re always going somewhere. And I specifically picked a time that you didn’t have work!”

How did she know his shifts in the Engine Room? Mifi’s ability to gather intelligence was terrifying.

“Maybe he's busy because it’s almost time for the next platoon match?” Naruki said.

“Huh~~ But I planned to catch Layfon when he wasn't training. Isn’t this strange?” Mifi said. Layfon was right before her, but she was indifferent to how she appeared to be gossiping about him.

Besides, Naruki didn’t seem to believe the reason she herself gave, as if she only said it to eliminate one possibility and force Layfon to tell the truth.“Then, what other reasons are there?”

Beautifully shooting down Naruki’s guess, Mifi cut straight into the chase.“Is this secret preparation for the platoon match?”

“Why do you sound suspicious?”

“Eehhhh, why?”

“You’re joking.”

“I’m not joking. I’m serious.”

“Uh?”

Mifi stared at him. He looked down at the bento.

“Have you got a woman?”

“…Why do you think that?”

“Well, you’re always with senpai lately. Isn’t that right? Senpai stands out a lot, so you can’t hide it.”

“No, that’s not it!” Layfon waved his hands, noticing how Meishen’s face had gone white.

“Our dormitories just lie in the same direction.”

“So because they're in the same direction, you have dinner with her all the time?”

“……How come you know about that too?”

Yes, since that night at the battle arena, he had had dinner a few times with Felli. It was Karian’s treat, but the Student President had never come to dinner with them. Felli was the only one eating with him.

“Don’t underestimate my information network!”

It was another arrow to his chest.

“No, it was just a coincidence.”

Layfon tried to make up another reason, but he could tell from Mifi’s eyes that she was still suspicious.

“Really? Her level of beauty and cuteness is shocking. When two people are alone, don’t they just…start shooting out the energy of youth meaninglessly? Because of a moment of thunder and fire, don’t they think they are permitted to do anything and so derail off into the lust of youth?”

“……I’m having trouble following you.”

“In other words, have you pushed her yet?”

“I wish you wouldn't use such clear words……” He shook his head. He hadn’t the courage to do such a thing to Felli. No, no, no. He didn’t mean he’d do something if he had the courage……

“So just what are you doing?”

“……”

“Uh…Is it something you can’t talk about?”

“I was asked not to.”

Karian asked him to keep it a secret. To students who hadn’t fought filth monsters, news of filth monsters in the direct path of the city would be a huge shock to them. Just like in the previous assault, when it was so chaotic within the city that students failed to follow the proper defensive procedures.

They tried to plan better for when the next wave of filth monsters hit, but that couldn’t be done overnight. And the only person who could fight back against this threat was Layfon. Hence, it was best to have Layton solve everything while everyone remained ignorant.

“Boooooooring.”

She stared at him for a while and gave up.

“Mifi……?

“This is boring. I’m gonna go to eat by myself.” She raised a hand and left the rooftop.

“Geez…She didn’t’ have to throw a tantrum like a kid,” Naruki said, standing up.“I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad.”

“No, this is my fault.”

“Really……Maybe, but her demand is unreasonable,” Naruki shrugged and looked at the uneasy Meishen.

“I’m going to stay with Mifi. Please take care of Meishen.”

Naruki took her bento and left.

“……Ah.”

While Meishen stammered, Naruki disappeared from the rooftop.

''(Why do I feel like this has happened before…)''

“Sorry,” Layfon apologized.

“……You're not the bad one here, Layton.” Meishen shook her head like a bell.

“But still, it is my fault.”

“……But, you can’t tell the truth, can you?”

“……”

He didn’t say anything. If he said “yes” then he was admitting that he was hiding something, and if he said he wasn’t hiding anything, that would expose him too.

He couldn’t say it, but also didn’t want to lie.

He didn’t want to lie because it was Meishen and her friends, so he could only shrug.

“……I think we shouldn’t ask and listen to what can’t be told. I feel that if you want to tell us, you’ll tell us one day.”

“……Thanks.”

“……Mi-chan knows that too.”

“I hope so.”

“……But, Mi-chan is curious.” Meishen smiled. Layfon envied the affection in that smile.

“……If Naruki and I had any secrets, Mi-chan would expose them immediately. But she doesn’t know what Layton’s hiding, and knowing that you don’t want her to know frustrates her.”

“She feels frustrated because I don’t want her to know?”

“……Mi-chan wants a better relationship with you. With her curiosity, she wants to be close enough to you that you can tell her things on your own. If it’s Gelni, she’ll do what she can quietly, but me……” She shook her head. “……Especially Gelni, she’s impatient too.”

“Especially?”

“……Yeah, especially.”

“Why?”

“Didn’t you help Gelni before? She’s impatient because she can’t help you out.”

“I never knew,” Layfon murmured at a loss.

“……Gelni’s good at being patient.”

“I don’t think she has to worry about it. After all, I did get paid,” he said, but he knew that wasn’t important.

To receive help from someone when she needed it, but unable to help when that person was in trouble. Naruki’s feeling of uselessness had nothing to do with Layfon getting paid.

“I see…Um, so it’s my fault.”

“……No, it’s not Layton’s fault.”

“No, it’s my fault.”

For not realizing that Meishen and the girls wanted to get closer to him. That was enough to make him at fault.

Thinking back closely, Meishen didn’t use to speak that much when they first met each other. She never talked much, always saying very little and giving snippets of words each time, but she was now talking and taking the initiative to get closer to him.

“Do I look troubled?”

“……Not troubled, more like...worried?”

“Worried?”

Layfon didn’t get it.

“……Sometimes you seem like that.” Meishen frowned.

“……Really?”

“……Yeah.”

“I see……”

…And Meishen was always on the verge of tears, but he wouldn’t say that even if someone tore his mouth apart.

“…… What is it?”

Layfon fell into contemplation.

Worried?

He didn’t worry about the filth monsters. There was a high possibility of filth monsters attacking Zuellni. Unable to run away, he had to face the crisis. This feeling was different from worrying. Either way, he was prepared for the reality that filth monsters would come near. Coming back to it, fighting filth monsters was normal in Grendan. Considering that death might become real was indeed a heavy burden, but if he lost to that pressure, he would've died already. To him, the fight of his spirit had already ended.

Then about this worry……

“Ahah……”

“Huh?”

“Ah…Hahaha…So that’s why……”

“Huh? Huh?”

“Mi-chan sounded strange, so I got it all wrong.”

“Huh!?”

“Ah…But that can’t be helped.”

“……Wuwu.”

“Uh-?”

Having laughed for a while, Layfon looked at the wall.

“……Layton……” Face white, Meishen’s hands were put together tightly, as if she was praying.

“Meihen……?”

“Um…Well…Ar……”

“Ah, Ahah…No! No…Nothing. Nothing really. I just got something wrong……So, please don’t cry?”

And as he comforted the trembling Mei-Shen, he told her the truth.

[[Image:CSR vol02 175.jpg|thumb]]

Naruki and Mifi came back to find Layfon comforting a trembling and nervous looking Mei-Shen. In order to explain he wasn’t bullying Mei-Shen, Layfon had no choice but to skip his afternoon classes.

Then he told them the entire truth.

“Uh, the captain doesn’t look strange……” Mifi nodded as she played with the empty milk packet.

“Is Layton worrying about her?”

Layfon nodded. “Yes.”

“So you want to help her?”

“If I can.” He nodded simply, burnt out from explaining things to them.

“Why?”

“Why……?” He sat up straight, surprised by the question.

Both Mifi and Naruki were watching him.

“Because you’re both in the same platoon? I thought Layton wasn't interested in the platoon and the platoon matches. If so, then the captain acting weird shouldn’t be that bad for you, right?”

“……Mifi,” Meishen looked at Mifi and Naruki, troubled, then she shook her head as if giving up.

They must have understood something between each other in that split second, but Layfon had no idea what it was. He only knew he was being asked a question.

Why did he have to do something for Nina?

“Is there a need to ask me that difficult a question?”

“Depends on Layton whether it’s difficult or not, right?” Naruki said.

“Perhaps,” Layfon nodded. Perhaps it wasn’t a difficult question, but even if Mifi kept on asking him the same question, he still had no answer to give them.

“Even now, I still don’t care about the platoon matches. But my thinking’s changed. I want to stay in the platoon before the next real Military Arts competition ends.”

“Oh? Is that the awakening of a righteous heart? A little investigation tells me Zuellni’s in a crisis. Everyone above the 3rd year knows of it.”

“I’m not that good-natured.”

“Then what is it?” Mifi said, as if she was reproving him.

“It’ll be troubling for me if Zuellni disappears. I can’t return to Grendan. If I don’t study something here for six years until I graduate, I don’t think I can survive in other cities. I don’t plan to train in the Military Arts all the way to graduation.”

“You’re not returning to Grendan?”

Layfon shook his head.

“……You probably know already. My skill in Military Arts doesn’t come about through spare training.”

“Of course,” Naruki shrugged. “If you managed to train up that skill in your spare time, then all the other Military Artists are terribly weak. I guess you had formal training in Military Arts back in Grendan? And you’ve trained to a level that the Academy City can’t teach you anything more in Military Arts. But that’s not what I’m concerned with, rather, it’s the reality of you wanting to give up Military Arts even though you’re so strong.”

The three girls watched him, increasing the pressure on him.

They were concerned about his past.

Naruki’s mouth moved, preparing to turn her suspicions into clear questions. How should Layfon answer her?

He still didn’t think what he did in Grendan was wrong. It didn’t go against his sense of morals. But he only knew that what he did had hurt a lot of people.

What would the girls think of him? Shocked? Contemptuous? Would they then leave him?

Thinking of the loneliness made him nervous. How would he feel if Nina found out about it?

“……Isn’t this enough?” Meishen said, cutting through his emotions.

“Mei-chan……?”

“……You wouldn’t want to listen to Layton’s past now, right?”

“Well……”

“But……”

“…If that’s the case, then it’s enough, isn’t it?” Meishen’s repeated question silenced the other two girls.

Layfon's reflection danced in the regret and guilt in Meishen's eyes.

“……Sorry, they……and I, just want to understand Layfon more.”

“No……”

He failed to speak, his chest feeling hot. He didn’t know how to express his weaknesses to them, and he was scared of them knowing his past.

''(Really? So I’m already so close to these three.)''

He was used to hanging out with them, going to class and studying together. This had become a part of his daily life.

He was scared of losing it.

“……I still like the people on the platoon, so I want to help.” He squeezed out those words and was left with nothing to say.

He fell silent.

He understood that just like how he was with Meishen and her friends, he was also enjoying the time he spent with Nina, Felli, Sharnid and Harley.

He was afraid of losing them.

“…In that case, I don’t have anything to complain about,” Mifi said, but still with suspicion in her voice.

“Aa, I was planning to help from the beginning. The only person who didn’t want to was Mifi.”

“You’re lying, Gelni!”

“I was never suspicious of Layton!”

“Liar. You were concerned too!”

“My concern’s not the same as your concern.”

“They’re the same.”

“No.”

“The same!”

“No.”

“Gelni was concerned about it. Definitely, definitely, definitely concerned about the captain, Felli senpai and that letter……”

“Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!”

Meishen suddenly shouted, her face all red. Everyone stared at her, dumbstruck.

“Mei…Mei-chan…?”

“……!”

Her shoulders heaving, Mei-Shen quickly covered her mouth with her hands.

“Ah……”

“So-Sorry……”

“Wuwu……” Tears filled her eyes.

''(And I thought I could apologize.)''

Meishen had been trying to find an opening to apologize for reading his letter.

But not under these circumstances...

Tears flooded down her cheeks.

This time Layfon was chased away. At a distance, he watched Mifi and Naruki comfort Meishen. Sometimes they said something wrong and made the situation worse. At other times, they mentioned the past and Meishen looked even worse at that. Meishen got angry, and was comforted, and like that the process repeated itself……

Meishen…When the three girls had calmed down, the bell signaling the end of class rang out.

The bell of the last class.

<center>◇</center>

Although they did agree on it, he never thought they’d really come.

“Well then, let me explain our mission.”

It was now night, or more like it was almost dawn. Everywhere was still dark and dim, but the sun would rise in two to three hours. They couldn’t have stayed awake all night, so they should have been sleeping till now.

Mifi’s hair was tangled, the sign of a sleepyhead.

“No, this isn't really a mission,” Naruki said to Mifi, who, for some reason, was wearing a long coat and sunglasses.

When the workers had finished cleaning the Engine Room, Meishen, Naruki and Mifi were already waiting for Layfon outside the entrance.

The quartet's breath came out as steam. Meishen had hot tea in her thermos. Everyone enjoyed the hot liquid thankfully.

“Where’s the captain?”

“The class leader’s called her over. She should still be inside.”

“Good. We’ll wait here then tail her,” Mifi smiled deviously, cupping the cup as steam from the hot tea rose to fog up her sunglasses.

“I think she’ll go back to bed like usual……” Layfon said, uncomfortable with her expression.

“Oh, I’ve been observing her. She trains until it's time to work, so if anything happens, it must happen after work.”

“Huh? Has she been training?”

“Yeah, it's pretty scary too, when she trains.”

“It’s like she’s another person.”

If even Naruki said so, then the training must have been intense.

“……”

She cancelled her training with him, but continued to train by herself.

“I see.”

“Hm? What?”

“Uh, nothing.”

That confirmed his suspiciouns.

He glanced at Naruki. She seemed to have arrived at the same conclusion.

“……Ah,” called Meishen softly. Everyone looked at the entrance.

Nina was coming out.

Breathing out steamy breaths, cold and shivering, Nina only wore her Military Arts uniform. Did she come straight from the Engine Room without returning to the dormitory? Her worksuit probably was inside the bag she carried. Layfon remembered that Nina had that bag with her when she came to team training.

Even the scattering street light, dim as it was, couldn’t cover the shadows of exhaustion on Nina’s face, but her pace while walking didn’t show her fatigue.

Layfon drained the tea in his cup and tossed the cup into a bin. The four of them waited for Nina to walk ahead a bit before following after her.

Layfon and Naruki decided on how far they had to stay behind Nina. If left to Mifi and Meishen, they’d have been discovered already. Although that was his conclusion, Nina’s appearance changed his judgement. Mifi might tail her well even by herself. A kind of tension surrounded Nina, but it looked more like an old wire fence to him. A fence with lots of openings.

“She’s very tired,” Naruki said in a low voice. Layfon nodded.

What had pushed Nina to this stage? Was it because they lost the platoon match? Could it have been that big of a shock to her? He wasn’t sure. No, perhaps he did know. He had tasted failure in Grendan. In order to survive, it was important for him to win again and again. The important point wasn’t his life and death, but more his being afraid of encountering a stumbling block in the process of doing what he wanted to do.

Was this the feeling that Nina held?

……Sure. She wanted to protect this city from harm. She said that to him not long ago.

“……She’s going somewhere?”

“Probably.”

Troubled expressions adorned Meishen and Mifi’s faces.

Nina continued towards the outskirts of the city.

The edge of the city was a danger zone, a zone where emergencies tended to arise, so residential and any important buildings were usually built further in from the city’s boundary. On the other hand, any buildings close to the danger zone were rented out cheaply.

Layfon didn’t know the exact location of Nina’s dormitory, but he could guess from the direction she headed after training and cleaning in the Engine Room that her dormitory did not lie on the city’s edge.

Nina finally arrived in a clearing devoid of buildings.

The sound coming from the movements of the city’s multi-legs rode the wind. Layfon and the girls hid in a forested area. This place was a bit far from the roaming bus station. All they could see was the wind carrying pollutant, a sandstorm rioting outside the air shield.

The wind tonight was especially strong. The sandstorm in the dark looked like some stirring creature.

Meishen held tightly to Layfon’s sleeve.

A hazy sky blocked out the traces of the moon. The cloud cover must be very thick.

Nina walked down some stairs to the middle of an amphitheatre and dropped the bag from her shoulders.

She took hold of the Dites in her harness.

[[Image:CSR vol02 189.jpg|thumb]]
“Restoration,” she said softly. At that sound, a familiar feeling ran through Layfon.

She readied her fighting stance. Layfon knew she’d then breathe in deeply and allow the Kei to flood her body.

The iron whips struck downwards or to the sides. She received, let the pressure slide off a side, and struck back at an imaginary enemy.

Nina’s body spun left and right, sometimes staying in one place as if defending against repeated heavy strikes, sometimes running forward as if attacking, charging in.

Nina practised all the moves she knew.

There was no delay or hesitation in her movements. Each move flowed smoothly into the next.

It was an Art, and it had a frightening air.

All three girls except Layfon were holding their breath.

Nina was like a first class dancer, showing every scene of the world in her movements. At the same time, she was like a mad fighter, fighting against everything in the world.

Meishen and the other two girls had already seen Nina training last night, but watching her for a second time did not reduce their amazement. They watched her wordlessly.

Layfon fixed his gaze on Nina, watching the light of Kei emitting from her. Her flow of Kei was brighter than the Kei she showed in team training. But unlike the first time, when Nina’s Kei was so dazzling that he could not look directly at her, a shadow now traced her Kei.

It was meaningless to judge one’s strength against the light of Kei, since the two held no relation to each other.

Layfon wasn’t sure whether he should to be happy or not about the change in Nina’s flow of Kei.

He was just saddened for some reason.

The remaining Kei dispersed from her body like steam, giving off light and floating up into air as of something finally being released. From her fingertips, shoulders, neck, head, back, toes…The remaining Kei shook like strings. The strings wove together to become one and stretched out to the sky like something struggling against a force too heavy to resist.

What a tragic scene.

And that was where her problem lay.

“What a mess,” Layfon murmured, earning wide-eyed stares from his companions.

“……Layton?”

“Huh? But I think she's amazing……?” Mifi asked and looked at Naruki. Naruki didn’t seem to understand Layfon. She wore a perplexed expression.

“Is something wrong?”

“The problem's not with the Kei flow or her movements……” No, that ‘was’ the problem. Internal-type Kei would not strengthen the entire body. What it did was coordinate a person’s movements and cause changes accordingly, making the moves faster and stronger. It was a type of training like Whirl Kei, generating sudden and speedy changes. But in Nina’s training, there were many redundant moves.

Layfon didn’t want to point that out. Her weakness could be improved, given more training.

“It’s not a problem that she trains by herself. Military Artists are always lonely. One must face oneself and struggle hard to become strong. Nobody can help you, and it’s not something you’ll ask someone for help with, but……” he shook his head.

How could he put it? He hadn’t yet organized his own emotions, so no words surfaced in his mind. He failed to find suitable words.

“She’s too reckless,” he said in the end.

The way she dispersed her Kei was like she was drowning, struggling to hold onto anything, even a bunch of wheat, but even so, it still wasn’t enough to escape the flood.

She could only sink.

What would happen if she continued to sink……

“……If she keeps this up, she’ll break.”

“Yes……” Naruki nodded in realisation.

Nina had classes and training in the Military Arts course, then team training after class and individual training after that, janitorial duties in the Engine Room after all of that and then individual training again……Just when did she sleep? Did she get enough rest? Looking at her, she had probably spent most of her time training alone when she wasn’t at her work.

But she would pay a huge price later.

In Grendan, Layfon once had to fight filth monsters for an entire week. A whole week without time to sleep and rest. A week that took away his awareness of time. In the end, he was so debilitated that he couldn't lift a single finger. No matter how he lied to his body, his biological clock went crazy afterwards. A twist of the normal pattern appeared. He spent two whole weeks resting before he could return to duty.

“……We must stop her,” Meishen said.

Layfon agreed. But how? It was easy to say you’d damage your body……But Nina knew that too.

Layfon knew training was not enough for Nina to reach what she wanted, and he didn’t know what advice to give in that area. Sure, he knew on a basic level how one became strong. The Head of the orphanage was the first person to teach him the Way of the Katana.

Nobody was born with an innate understanding of the Military Arts.

But teaching Nina the Katana wasn’t what she needed.

She needed better training in the basics, but……

Layfon couldn’t teach her his training in Kei flow. He had already passed that phase of needing someone to teach him how to handle the flow of Kei at a very young age. He could teach Nina some simple steps, but he didn’t have the confidence to teach the deeper theories. He knew his own knowledge in this area wasn’t an easy thing for others to obtain.

Maybe it’d be presumptuous of him to say this, but what he meant was the ability of a genius. It would be difficult to pass on all of his instincts, instincts that a genius possessed and made real. And as such, none of the other Heaven's Blade Receivers had apprentices. All they did was concentrate on their own training.

“We’re the rarest of the rare, special and strange. We’re humans but not entirely humans. Even if we pass on our knowledge, it’d only be one-thousandth, one-ten thousandth, one-billionth. We’re those kinds of people, off the beaten path.”

Lintence had said that when Layfon was slowly getting the hang of how to control the steel threads technique.

“I taught you this skill as a small experiment. You’ve reached one-thousandth of my level, but it isn’t possible for you to get any better at it. Even if you can control billions of steel threads, they still aren’t as sharp as the point of your Katana. It’s better for you to use the Katana when you’re in a crisis.”

Layfon wasn’t disappointed at those words. He understood and accepted it. This reality hadn’t changed. He felt the running of his Kei flow the best when he held a Katana – not steel threads.

Why was there a difference? He couldn’t pass on his skill to Nina when he was unable to explain his own skill.

He shook his head. She would have asked him already if she had wanted to learn from him.

“……Layton?”

Against Meishen’s question, he had no idea how to show them his helplessness at Nina’s situation.

“Can’t we do anything?”

He shook his head.

“Probably……No, I don’t know. We can tell her she's training too recklessly, that she’ll seriously injure her body; but is there a purpose to this? There’s something she wants to achieve even though she’s like this. I find it meaningless to tell her to stop training when we can’t help her at all.”

Nina wanted to become stronger.

She had always wanted to become stronger. This wasn’t some sudden idea of hers.

But……

“Why’s she only doing this now? Because she lost the match? Is that all?” Mifi asked reflexively.

Layfon couldn’t think of any other reason, but doubt remained. Was that all, really?

“……I think I understand,” Naruki said.

They all looked at her.

“This is how I felt when I asked for Layton’s help awhile ago. Layton’s too strong, so I feel that I can’t fight beside you. I don’t know how to feel about this other than that. You can say that’s how Military Artists think. This feeling is lonely and regretful…Frankly, I’m also jealous. The feeling of only being able to rely on another’s power is hard, especially for me as a Military Artist. I think it’s harder for her as the captain of the team that you’re in.”

Listening to that reminded Layfon of Sharnid testing his new Dite.

Though Sharnid had laughed, saying that sniping was not enough for him, that might not have been the only reason. Did Sharnid ask Harley to make him new Dites because of the feeling that Naruki held? And Nina too?

No, she must be criticizing herself even more intensely than Sharnid, right? Because she strongly wanted to save this city……

“If that’s the case, then I don’t have anything to say……”

It was natural for a Military Artist to want to become strong.

“……But why?” Meishen said.

“Hmm?” Layfon responded. Meishen, not being a Military Artist herself, wouldn’t understand……He could think that about her, but the way she voiced her suspicion sounded like more than mere doubt.

Meishen said something vague, but changed her mind. “……I know the captain wants to be stronger, but why can’t Layton do anything? Why does Layton have to do anything?”

At first, he didn’t understand what she was getting at.

“…… The captain wants to become stronger so she can win, right? Does she want the entire platoon to become strong? In that case, it’s not just Layfon, but everyone together……”

Was it alright to become stronger alone or was it better to become stronger together? Which one was it? Layfon thought that it was the same either way.

“Together?” he asked.

Meishen nodded, her face all red.

“Together…”

“What’s so strange about that?” Mifi asked.

He felt as if something was stuck in his throat, preventing him from speaking.

“I see, it’s that simple……” Naruki said, touching her chin.

Something sounded strange. The sound of flowing Whirl Kei had stopped.

Layfon was the first to look over, then Naruki and the other two girls.

Nina had fainted.

<center>◇</center>

It didn’t take long to get to the hospital. Layfon had carried Nina to the hospital and the medical students on the night shift had quickly prepared a room for them. The doctor that had been napping came over to do a simple checkup and ordered the nurses to get someone over and prepare an IV. During this time, Layfon had called Harley, and as he was about to return to the patient’s room met Naruki, Mifi and Meishen.

It was now another shift. A different doctor was checking up on Nina. The nurses had changed Nina into patient clothes that were open at the back.

The doctor was placing needles into Nina’s back.

“He specializes in Kei vein treatment,” the nurse said to Layfon.

“Is this 3rd year Nina Antalk!?” the doctor said, displeased. Could it be because of sleepiness? His eyes looked quite sleepy.

Layfon nodded.

“I never thought a 3rd year in Military Arts could faint in such stupid way.”

“Is it serious?”

“There’s a decreasing level of function of her internal organs. She lacks nutrients and has overworked her muscles……Anyway, everything about her is weak. The simple cause is the overworking of the Kei vein.”

As expected.

“Kei can strengthen body functions and speed up healing, but the source of the Kei vein is the flow caused by human activities. Military Artists have a special organ to generate Kei flow, but the basics are the same. No, to a Military Artist, this is the same as increasing her weakness, because that organ is the same as a heart or a brain. If it’s damaged, then it might die,” the doctor said as he placed more tiny needles into Nina’s back. From her waist going upward, as if the needles were mapping out some sort of a terrain.

“Even if the brain’s damaged, one can still live in a vegetative state. If a heart’s damaged, we can give them an artificial heart. But this is the only organ that is irreplaceable. If the Kei vein is damaged beyond repair, then it’s over. I think I said that already in class, that it has to be looked after carefully,” he said, continuing to place tiny needles on his patient’s back. Although there weren’t any professionals in the Academy City, this doctor’s skill seemed reliable enough.

“Can she be cured?”

“This isn’t fatal. I’m using acupuncture to strengthen her flow of Kei.”

Layfon relaxed.

“But she can’t move for now, and she can’t participate in the next platoon match.”

“……Really?”

“Hum? You don’t seem shocked?”

“That type of thing means nothing to me.”

“It seems like that rumour of the newbie of 17th platoon being a weirdo really is true.”

So there was such a rumour? The needles spread from the waist to Nina’s fingernail and heels.

The doctor placed the last needle on Nina’s left heel, and massaged his shoulders.

The nurses adjusted the air-conditioner and left the room.

Nina continued to sleep. Layfon’s fast and irregular breathing had now calmed down. A relaxed sigh escaped his mouth, and he remembered the three girls waiting in the corridor. He went out to tell them Nina was all right, that they could go home first. It was almost dawn and the girls also had class next.

“What about Layton?”

“I’ll stay here a bit then go.”

“……Is there anything you need?” Meishen asked.

Layfon didn’t understand what she meant.

“……She’ll need things, staying in the hospital.”

“Ah……”

“Layfon won’t be able to prepare everything. We’ll bring the things after class.”

“Thanks.”

“Aa, that’s all we can do for her,” Mifi said as he escorted them to the lobby.

And he saw Harley.

Representing the other two, who weren’t here, Harley’s face was stiff and green. “How’s Nina?”

“She’s sleeping.”

“I see…Is she all right?”

“She won’t be able to participate in the next match.”

“That can’t be helped,” Harley said without resistance. He sighed, relaxed after knowing Nina was all right. “Don’t you think it's a shame?”

“What’s important is the real match, right?”

“True.”

Harley’s reply gave Layfon courage. To Layfon, the platoon match wasn’t at all important, but he wasn’t sure whether Nina felt the same.

“I’ve contacted the other two. I think they’ll be here soon……But they aren’t the hasty types, huh?” Harley shrugged, not at all criticizing their slowness.

They returned to the patient’s room. Harley gasped at the needles covering her body, but he breathed out slowly after seeing her sleeping face.

And suddenly directed his gaze to the wall. His face turned red.

“Can we cover her?”

“…The nurses didn’t. If we do it ourselves, it seems……”

Layfon understood Harley’s meaning, and he also felt heat creeping up his own face.

After knocking quietly on the door, Felli walked in.

“……What’re you doing?” she asked coolly, her gaze sweeping across Nina, her underclothes illuminated by the light, and the two young men.

Losing interest at her tongue-tied teammates, Felli observed Nina’s face. After confirming that Nina was all right, she once again put her face closer to the captain’s.

Felli was in uniform. It was not yet dawn, but neither her hair nor uniform showed signs of her having slept.

Layfon was peeking at the two girls. Felli moved her gaze away and looked at him.

He hastily moved his gaze back to the wall.

“Pervert.”

“I didn’t see anything.”

“Giving that response means you’re a pervert.”

Unable to fight back, he could only moan.

“Never mind, that’s not important. What’s important is……” Her gaze landed on Harley, then she took out a big envelope from her bag.

“My brother gave me this.”

Layfon read the letter.

He had already guessed the contents of the letter before Felli opened the envelope. And after observing Harley’s reaction, stiffening and recovering and then looking at Nina, Layfon understood more.

Back at the bed, Felli was checking whether Nina was truly asleep.

Inside the envelope was a photo.

“This is the second image from the drone.”

The image was the same as the last one, but it was clearer and sharper. Maybe because it was closer to the city.

That thing was fastened high on the face of a mountain. Was it sleeping? Its wings were folded, laying on top of each other. Its body was curled up.

A filth monster.

It was a male……In which phase? Layfon couldn’t judge from the photo.

If only it would continue to sleep; but this hope was far from possible.

“Has the city……Has Zuellni changed direction?”

When a city detected a filth monster, it’d take evasive action. Every mobile city acted this way, including Zuellni.

Felli shook her head. “Zuellni’s still heading straight in that direction. At this rate, it’ll encounter the filth monster the day after tomorrow.”

The day after tomorrow……Was the weekend, and the day of the platoon match. It appeared that the 17th platoon would have to give up on the match.

Layfon sighed. He put the photo back inside the envelope and returned it to Felli.

“The Dite’s ready. You can use it anytime,” Harley said.

“The combat gear for external use is ready. My brother wants you to depart tomorrow night if possible.”

“I understand.”

“Are you afraid?” Felli suddenly asked.

“Hm?”

“Of fighting the filth monster.”

“Well……”

Of course he was afraid. That line touched his lips but did not leave them. It wasn’t because he thought he’d lose face by confirming his fear, but he hesitated at the expectation and hope in Felli’s eyes.

“It’s a bit late for you to be asking that question.”

“That’s……true.”

As if imitating Layfon, wanting to say something and deciding not to, Felli’s lips opened and closed. She sighed, a sigh of one who knew how many times cuter and more beautiful that sigh could be.

“Can't you stop……?” she murmured. Confirming Nina’s condition once more, she left the room.

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| Back to [[Chrome_Shelled_Regios:Volume2_Chapter3|Chapter 3]]
| Return to [[Chrome_Shelled_Regios|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Chrome_Shelled_Regios:Volume2_Chapter5|Chapter 5]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Chrome Shelled Regios:Volume2 Chapter1

2009-12-07T08:23:12Z

Sonatazz:

===Chapter 1: Confusion===

How’ve you been?

My school life’s busy, but it’s more ordinary than yours. After I got your letters, a few more reached me at the same time. I don’t know when you’ll receive this letter, but I hope it will reach you faster than yours reached me. I’m happy that you haven’t given up the Military Arts. You’ve finally made a decision after going through a lot of trouble! I’d be embarrassed if you made up your mind because of my letter, but I’m still happy about that. I’ve made a new friend. It’s tiring to be around that interesting person. This must be what they call pros and cons.

The orphanage is still full of noise and life. Father has left the dojo, but he’s not teaching the kids at the orphanage; he’s gone to teach in a real dojo. It’s hard work to manage a dojo in Grendan, but people living nearby have enrolled, so we’re making money. We plan to apply for government funding, so don’t worry too much about the situation here. We’re not getting as much money as we were when you were helping here, but I think we can manage.

So how are you doing over there? Are you sick? Have you been eating well? I’m worried. You never pay much attention to the nutrients in your diet.

It seems you’ve made a lot of friends. I’m relieved that you’re not alone. But……how come they’re all girls?

That, I do mind.

Perhaps Layfon is a pervert?

I really should have protested more strongly about you going to Zuellni.

Ah, please take it as a joke. Right.

Oh yes, just to say, I’m happy that you haven’t given up the Military Arts! But I don’t want you to become the Layfon you were in Grendan. I envy the Layfon training with all his concentration on the Military Arts. You looked cool. But I didn’t like the Layfon who became a Heaven's Blade Receiver. Do you understand the difference?

When the letter first came, there was this interesting topic. Maybe you'll be surprised, but I won’t tell you just yet. It’d be great if it can surprise you a bit.

I’ll write to you again.

To my dear Layfon Wolfstein Alseif.

Leerin Marfes.

……Delicate fingers folded the letter along old folds. Praying that nobody would discover this, she put the letter back into the correct mailbox.

<center>◇</center>

Forbidden from living on the polluted earth, humans lived in mobile cities.

As if floating on the earth, the cities move according to their own consciousnesses and maintained contact through the center of the traffic network, the Traffic City Joeldem.

The network wasn’t reliable, but it was a way to connect them.

Academy City.

Within the ranks of the Regios were cities of different functions. This type of city, specializing in education, moved within this unstable network.

It gathered boys and girls, letting them study knowledge.

In here, where no adults set foot, children were learners and also teachers.

This was the Academy City.

And Zuellni was one of the Academy Cities.

Sunlight shot through into a classroom that was filled with a boisterous atmosphere before class began. The students entering the classroom placed their bags behind their seats and either joined into different conversation circles or prepared for class. Some ran about, asking for notes to copy. Some stayed immersed in their own world.

Surrendering to the urge to sleep, Layfon bent over his desk.

“Oh~~Morning!”

“Ha!”

The other person gave his back a heavy hit.

“What? What? You look tired!”

“Uh! Wha……Mor……Morning……” Layfon coughed.

“Mii-chan, you went over the line.”

“Yeah, maybe Layton still hasn’t recovered from the match.”Naruki said.

“Oh, wasn’t that two days ago?"

Mifi puffed up her cheeks. “As if Layton would get tired just because of that. Right?”

“Yeah……Uh, the match wasn't tiring. I’m ok.”

“…But you look like you wanted to sleep.”

“No, really, I’m fine.”

Looking at Meishen’s worried eyes, he nodded in a carefree manner. Her eyes were always teary. He didn’t know what to do about that.

“Even so, you look tired. What is it? Did you have to work yesterday too?” Naruki studied him. Her tall presence made him feel like he was being interrogated.

“It’s alright.”

“I see. Well, working for days at a time can be tiring.”

“……It’s hard work to clean the Mechanism Chamber.”

“Yeah. If you seriously want to prepare for the platoon matches, I think it’s better for you to quit the cleaning job.”

These three girls knew each other before they came to Zuellni.

Layfon met them because he stopped the riot at the opening ceremony.

And that was also the reason he was transferred into the Military Arts.

But these three had nothing to do with his transfer. The Student President, Karian Loss, knew from the beginning who Layfon was.

A Heaven's Blade Receiver in Grendan.

“No……I’m getting used to cleaning there already,” he said as he smiled at Meishen.

The cleaning job in the Central Mechanism – cleaning the heart of the Regios – Layfon really had gotten used to it. The repetitive body work was way more relaxing than using his brain.

“Then what is it?” Mifi asked.

“Ahhahahah…Um, something.” He gave a vague response.

“……Are you hiding something?”

“No. Definitely not!”

“No, you have a secret! Don’t think this can escape my eyes! Hurry up and tell us before you get it!”

“Get it……”

Her pair of questioning eyes came closer. No one could stop Mifi when she was deep in her passion to collect and record any information.

“Tell, tell, tell……”

“Ah……” A troubled smile appeared on Layfon’s face.

Naruki grabbed the back of Mifi’s uniform and dragged her away.

“Didn’t we have to tell him something? Class is about to begin.”

“Huh?”

“Ah. That’s right. Geez...Because Mei is always staggering, we almost forgot about it.”

“……Is it my fault?” Meishen said, sulking.

“Well, Mifi’s always making a huge ruckus. Hurry up, Mei-chan!”

“……Ah!”

Naruki pushed Meishen. Meishen walked forward, facing Layfon, her face a fiery red.

“……Um...”

“Yes?” Layfon sat up.

“…Lunch…I made a bento. Do you want to eat together?”

“Huh?”

“We’re always eating out for lunch, so Meishen’s decided to make us a bento,” Naruki said.

Meishen nodded at her, her face so red, it seemed like smoke was about to rise from her head.

It was true. Since his first day here, he'd always been buying bread for lunch. He had helped out in the orphanage so he knew how to cook, but because of his late shift in the Central Mechanism, he spent more time sleeping late in the morning.

“Ah……Is that ok?”

“……Hmm.”

“Mei-chan loves to cook. Just be thankful and accept her goodwill.”

Wondering whether the continuously nodding Meishen was becoming a robot, Layfon smiled happily.

“Then, thank you.”

Meishen stopped nodding.

<center>◇</center>

“I’m jealous!” Harley said, after having listened to Layfon talk about Meishen’s invitation to lunch. He was looking at the display.

“Thank's for the compliment,” Layfon nodded, holding a green Dite with a wire connecting one of its ends to Harley’s machine.

“No, that's not what I meant.”

“Um...?”

“Uh, I meant…I also want a girlfriend!”

Layfon came to the training complex after for platoon training and was accosted by Harley to do some checking.

The intense sound of training in other rooms drifted past the walls and into the boys’ ears.

Only Layfon and Harley were in the room.

“That's wrong! We aren’t lovers! She just likes to cook.”

Harley sighed and shook his head.

“Oh, that’s right. What’s this for?” Layfon had been sending his Kei into the sword.

[[Image:CSR vol02 023.jpg|thumb]]
There were two types of Kei, a destructive Kei that flowed externally and an internal Kei that strengthened the physical body. They were the skills that Military Artists used.

“Well, there’s something I wanted to check.”

“Um……” Layfon continued to extend his Kei into the blade, not knowing what he was doing it for. The sword emitted soft green light.

The vein of Kei made him feel like he'd grown a new limb. The vein extended into the blade to feel its heat and caressed the wind around it.

Harley sighed in admiration. “Your concentration of Kei is incredible! In this case, isn't it better to use the white Dite? That’ll increase the conductive rate.”

“Really?”

Layfon was actually unsatisfied with it. It wasn’t as good as the Heaven's Blade he'd used in Grendan.

(The Heaven's Blade was also made from white Dite.)

But it was useless to compare the two. In the end, the sword was made to fight the filth monsters.

“So I was able the use the weapon before because of my amount of Kei.”

Not long before, the filth monsters had attacked Zuellni.

Zuellni’s multi-legs were trapped in a filth monster’s nest. With Layfon’s help that crisis has been resolved.

Harley had made a new adjustment to the Dite at Layfon’s request.

A weapon that could be divided into countless wires.

Layfon used that to wipe out the larvae. He even stepped outside the city to eliminate the mother.

“But they took that weapon. Oh, this is fine.”

The Student President and Vance had confiscated the weapon. It gave too much of an advantage to Layfon in a platoon match.

The Dite Layfon was now holding was newly made.

“Well, I didn’t plan to use that weapon in the platoon matches anyway.”

He cut off his Kei flow and lowered the sword. The residual heat from his Kei remained in his body, making him sweat.

“Really? If you used that, it would've been easy to win a platoon match.”

“True, but isn’t it pointless to win through that method?”

“Really?”

“Yes. Besides, the captain would never approve of it.”

“Ah, true, true.” A sour smile appeared on Harley’s face.

“She wouldn’t be happy, winning through other people’s strength.”

“Yeah,” Layfon nodded and swung the sword.

Having released so much Kei, he wanted to exercise his limbs.

It was a casual swing from high to low. The remaining Kei on the blade disappeared along with the scattering green light of the Dite.

He confirmed his body condition by swinging the sword, and while dong that, he adjusted his different moves.

Slowly swinging the sword again and again, focusing his attention to one single point. He no longer detected the color of Kei emitting from the blade. The feeling he had had till now, of the changes in his nerves, slowly extended to the outside, resulting in the feeling that Layfon was swinging the sword like a machine.

And as he concentrated more, even that robotic feeling was pushed outside of his consciousness. He had become empty, whereas everything else was painted with colour.

He swung at that colour.

The point of his blade tore a track through the intangible air. This action repeated itself again and again. No matter how many wounds blossomed in the air, more air rushed in to fill it. He repeated his motion, and only stopped when the wound, affecting the flow of air, was unable to recover.

Unenthusiastic clapping sounded.

“Haha, brilliant!”

Sharnid had been watching at the door.

“Seems like it’s been cut up to so many pieces that it just died.”

“It’s not that incredible……”

“But it really is! The wind pressure was strong when you first swung your sword, but in that last swing, the wind pressure just vanished……It was amazing,” Harley said excitedly.

Layfon scratched his head, embarrassed by Harley’s kiddy excitement.

Then Sharnid poured cold water on Harley’s emotion. “Harley, have you finished what I asked for before?”

“Oh, yes, yes. It’s already done.”

Harley opened a box beside him and took out two Dites.

The two Dites were like rods of charcoal. They had curved handles that were smooth and polished. In the bend of the handles were metal rings, hiding a hook like thing.

“Are they guns?”

Sharnid’s job was to support the team with long range fire.

“It won’t do to snipe when we have so few fighters on our team. Just think of it as insurance,” Sharnid said. He used his Kei to restore the Dites.

“What a crude appearance!”

The body of the gun looked very heavy. There were no blades extending from above and below, but the shape looked sharp. The gun was designed with several bulging points. Either way, it looked like some type of attacking weapon.

And Layfon could tell the texture was not of light Dite, but the hard black Dite.

The same material of Nina’s iron whips.

“I used black Dites as requested, but the shooting range isn’t as long because of the bad conductive rate for the Kei flow.”

“Not bad. I don’t plan to shoot long distance with this thing. As long as it can hit anyone within ten Mei, it's fine with me.”

He placed his fingers on the triggers, practising with his new Dites. He reversed the gun barrels.

“Is this close-quarters gun combat?”

Sharnid whistled. “As expected of someone from Grendan. You do know a lot.”

“Ah, I think even people not from Grendan would know……”

“What is close-quarters gun combat?” Harley asked.

To put it simply, this was martial arts using guns. Guns had the advantage with long range combat, but compared with swords and daggers, they were slow in terms of close-quarters combat.

And so a new type of gun skill was invented to overcome this weakness. The skill of close-quarters gun combat.

“Ah……Sharnid senpai knows how to use it?”

“Well, people who know how to use this are either stupid people that try to look cool, or amazing fighters……And I’m the former,” he said with a cunning smile.

Not sure whether Sharnid was speaking the truth or not, Layfon looked at Harley, who only shrugged.

“……I’m late.”

Came the clear and small voice. It was Felli.

Her form was as exquisite as glass art, giving off a pressure as if to freeze everything in her vicinity, but Layfon and the guys were already used to this.

“Felli-chan’s cute today too,” Sharnid commented.

“Thanks……” She glanced at the guns in his hand, and sat down on the long bench in a corner, already losing interest.

Harley checked Felli’s Dite and said “Nina’s the only one not here.”

“Meaning she’s the last!”

“Seems so.”

Nina was more determined than anyone to strengthen the 17th platoon. She was always the first to arrive for training, but today, she hadn’t shown up yet.

“I remember her saying she had something to do……”

“I think she’s not keen at all,” Sharnid yawned.

And just as he said, a lazy atmosphere filled the room.

Not knowing what to say, Layfon gazed at his sword.

''(A lot has happened after the match.)''

Revealing his real strength in the first platoon match was a setback for Nina.

This time, he kept himself at the same level as the rest of the platoon and fought seriously.

But in the end, they lost the match.

He didn’t do his best. It was meaningless to hide his strength anymore, and he agreed with Nina that they had to protect the city. Even so, he tried to fight with some will.

And the reason for his not giving his all in the fight was because the platoon match wasn’t the real Military Arts competition.

Layfon’s strength would be needed after the platoon matches.

At some time, mobiles cities would approach nearby cities and fight for territory.

In reality, it was the people living in the city who fought.

And warred.

The reason behind the fight was the fuel source for the Regios – selenium mines.

For some reason, a city would only fight against the same kind of city. To reduce the number of casualties, Academy Cities had introduced the Military Arts competition. But even so, this couldn’t change the reality that the losing city might die.

Zuellni once had three selenium mines. When Layfon came to study, it only had one mine left.

If they lost in the next Military Arts competition, Zuellni would have lost its one and only mine, and face death.

At first, Layfon didn’t understand what this had to do with him. He felt it was unfair, for he had already decided to give up Military Arts.

Despite that, it didn’t feel bad to do what he could for the city.

But……

One of the key people who changed his way of thinking, Nina, was not happy.

Against her parents’ wishes, Nina ran away from home and came to Zuellni – Without money, she had to work in the Core Mechanism.

Layfon was also half-studying and half-working.

He always bumped into her at work. Recently, they'd earned the trust their supervisor and were assigned together to clean a larger area.

Layfon had been working from midnight till dawn beside the wordless Nina.

''(This is tiring……)''

Thinking back, he felt he had never been through such a long night. Anyone could see the unhappiness on her face.

''(Is it really because we lost the match?)'' He thought.

But if he was the cause…That part he didn’t understand.

Speaking of which……

''(Shouldn’t I speak with her?)''

He was being indecisive about it. And time passed as he brooded.

“If there’s no practice, can I go back?” Felli said listlessly.

“Just wait a little bit more!” Harley said. He had already finished checking her Dite, and he had nothing to do. Sharnid was leaning against the wall with eyes closed. Perhaps he really was sleeping. Felli squinted at Layfon beneath her long eyelashes, her sharp gaze reproaching him.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Nina’s voice saved him from Felli's sharp gaze.

Nina was in her third year, a junior, but she had become the captain of a platoon.

“You really are slow, Nina. What’ve you been doing? I almost fell asleep!” Sharnid yawned. To him, a fourth year, Nina was younger, so he didn’t call her captain.

“I had to look into something, and it took some time.” She walked to the center of the training room. The Dites in her harness gave off metallic noise as she moved.

Doubt rose in Layfon.

The sound that was usually reliable and convincing now felt unnatural.

The sound of the Dites…showed she wasn't walking normally.

Nina might have sustained wounds in the previous match, but she didn’t look injured. She didn’t walk carefully so as not to jar a wound.

“It’s late. We won't be training today.”

“Why?”

Everyone was shocked. Even Felli widened her beautiful eyes, watching Nina with suspicion.

Layfon felt the same.

Nina formed a platoon to give something back to Zuellni. It was because of her passion that he felt it was okay for him to step back onto the path of Military Arts. And it wasn’t just her. Meishen, Mifi, Naruki…They followed their dreams with an honest heart.

Even though the thing that really encouraged him was the letter from his childhood friend, Leerin.

“So, why?” Sharnid said.

Layfon wasn’t just surprised at her canceling the training, but today’s Nina seemed to lack something. Just like the sound coming off the Dites in her harness. Something he couldn’t quite grasp……

“I’m thinking of changing the training method. Sorry, we’ll just cancel today’s training.”

“Sure……”

“Go do individual training if you want. Dismissed.”

She left the training room.

Layfon watched her back.

The two Dites bumped against each other.

It really was an uneasy sound.

<center>◇</center>

She realized this when she was panting heavily and had to stop. She pressed her palm against on her chest, just above her heart, and realized that feeling of coarseness was gone.

“Heh?”

She searched in the pockets of her uniform. The breast pocket, inside pocket, dress pocket, her schoolbag.

It was gone.

The letter she was supposed to give to Layfon was gone.

It was still on her when she left the classroom. She had wanted to give it to him in the room, but while she hesitated and tried to find an opening, he had left. Meishen chased after him, to the training complex, but as a General Studies student she wasn’t sure whether she should enter the building, so she could only wait at the entrance.

''(I can give it to him tomorrow……Isn’t it better to hand it over now? Should I go in? Would I be interrupting? Should I just wait here till he finishes training……?)''

She couldn’t wait for long, as it was almost time for her shift at the coffee shop.

She had checked that she still had the letter while thinking outside the training complex.

She'd had the letter then.

While checking to be sure that the letter really wasn’t on her, she couldn’t help but think what would happen next.

That letter had been stuffed into the crack between the door and the wall with other letters at the dormitory. Besides the letter from her parents, she also found letters from close relatives and friends – and when Meishen was happily checking the names on the letters, she found this name.

Leerin Marfes.

A name she hadn't heard of before. She checked the name of the receiver, and held her breath.

It was Layfon.

She realized that the letter must have been delivered to the wrong place. She and Layfon lived in different dormitories with different room numbers. This letter was mistakenly delivered to her room by some coincidence.

Thinking of this, she was glad that she got to chat with Layfon. She could always talk to him, but it was another thing to talk about serious matters.

But……

''(Leerin……This is a girl’s name, right?)''

If only she could ignore this name and stay immersed in happiness.

''(What is their relationship? Friends?......What if they’re lovers?)''

Uneasiness filled her chest.

''(……But, to peek into another person’s letter……)''

Her fingers shook. Looking at someone else’s letter wasn’t worth praising.

''(But……)''

She really did mind it. If this Leerin was someone important to Layfon, then what about Meishen herself?

She was afraid, thinking that the truth could be written in this letter. Even if she just left the letter alone, she’d probably have insomnia.

''(No……But……But……)''

Shaky fingers lightly touched the covering of the envelop. She mustn’t peel it off too obviously. Lightly, lightly……

''(Ahah……)''

And she read what was inside.

What she felt afterwards were a sense of self-hatred and rivalry.

She relaxed, knowing she herself was the only one looking after Layfon’s diet. Yet at the same time, she was jealous of the time that Layfon had spent with Leerin.

The guilt and self-hatred of peeking into another’s letter stayed with Meishen. She had decided to give him back the letter when she was making him a bento. She had wanted to, but somehow dragged it out till after school……

……And now this had happened.

“……But it was there earlier.”

She wanted to cry, her eyes feeling hot and her body weak. She sat down on the ground, hugging her schoolbag and searched in her memories for a hint.

“……Oh!”

Perhaps……

Because ‘she’ had appeared before Meishen, who was determined to stand outside the complex and wait for Layfon. She didn’t mind being late to her job at the coffee shop, since this was her fault. But when Meishen had worked up her courage, ‘she’ appeared.

Felli Loss.

Hearing Felli’s question, asking what Meishen wanted with Layfon, the determination Meishen held vanished like a puff of smoke, and she ran off as if she was escaping.

She must have dropped the letter then.

“Uuuu……”

She could do nothing without Naruki and Mifi. She hated herself for getting nervous before unfamiliar people. Once again, she returned to the training complex, searching for the letter on the ground – and failed to find it.

<center>◇</center>

“I find it strange,” Felli murmured in incomprehension as she went home.

Nobody felt like training after Nina left, so they just dispersed. Sharnid left immediately to go somewhere, and Harley went back to his lab after saying to Layfon “I’ll find you if something comes up.”

Layfon and Felli ended up leaving together, as their dormitories lay in the same direction.

Felli was one year older than Layfon, but she looked like a girl just a little over 10 years of age.

“She actually suggested we cancel training. This doesn’t feel right.”

Layfon smiled sourly at her.

“What?”

“……Nothing. Senpai’s worried about the captain, so……” He smiled. Felli glared at him, her pale face turning pink.

Felli’s level of psychokinesis was of the level of a genius, but she being used. She was in the 17th platoon because her brother Karian Loss, the Student President, forced her into it.

“As if I’d worry about her,” she said.

“I meant that her coming up with weird ideas doesn't feel right."

Felli increased her pace, her argent hair fluttering behind her.

The male students walking past the pair couldn’t help but stop and look at her.

Layfon caught up with her, walking past the dreamy-eyed male students. “But, it really is strange.”

Even if she were changing the training methods, there was no need to cancel today's session.

''(It was more like she was distracted by something else.)''

That's what Layfon thought.

However, he didn't know what it was.

He remembered Nina’s attitude at work last night.

A cold expression coupled with silence. Was it really because they lost the match?

Perhaps she was thinking of something else.

“But I still don’t get it.”

“Are you still thinking?” Felli said, angry.“Please slow down.”

“Oh, sorry.” He had sped up his pace unconsciously.

The Felli he knew now always had some sort of expression on her face. This was different from when he first met her. Neutral. A face like a doll’s.

“You won’t find the answer by thinking too much. All you need is to observe more keenly.”

“True,” he nodded.

“Compared to that……”

“What?”

“Nothing.” Her lips moved, then, clamped down altogether.

“?”

“My brother……wants you.”

“The Student President needs me?” Layfon frowned.

Knowing Layfon's past, Karian had forced him into the Military Arts department.

“I wasn't told why, but he said it’s important.”

Felli was also unhappy.

“Shall we go and meet him?”

Why didn’t she just tell him at school?

“No,” she shook her head.

“He said it’s secret……We’ll talk at my place.”

“……What?”

“I need to buy groceries for dinner. Please come with me.”

Why Felli’s place?

Before he could ask that question, she had strolled ahead of him.

He followed silently.

And now he was holding shopping bags in both of his hands.

''(Just how many days of groceries has she bought?)''

Felli was also walking with her hands full.

Instead of parting at the usual place, they headed for Felli’s dormitory. Layfon felt uneasy walking in an unfamiliar part of the city.

“……It looks big.”

It looked more like a villa than a dormitory. On the first floor was a big living room enclosed in glass walls. A spiral staircase (next to the sofa) took them up to the second floor.

Layfon clearly felt the gap between the rich and poor as he pushed open the engraved door.

It was too naïve of him to get so excited over having a twin room all to himself.

A wide corridor stretched ahead to another spacious living room, and from there was a door that led to more rooms.

“Please leave the groceries over there.”

The kitchen was about the same size as Layfon’s room. He didn’t know whether to feel comforted or disappointed by this.

“Please wait outside. I’m going to make dinner.”

Layfon put down the groceries and went to sit on the sofa in the living room. A desk, a magazine bookcase…Small oil paintings adorned the walls, looking as if they were just put up to have something cover the bare walls. The room felt dry and tasteless.

There were actually two doors leading from the living room.

One of the doors must lead to Felli’s room.

Then the other……?

''(I see. She lives with the Student President.)''

This wasn’t surprising, since they were siblings.

''(So why does this meeting have to be a secret?)''

The Student President had somehow obtained information about Layfon’s past, but the two of them weren’t close enough to share each other’s secrets.

In truth, Layfon didn’t want to meet Karian.

''(Well, there’s no point in thinking about it. I’ll find out soon enough,)'' he decided, recalling Felli’s advice.

With nothing to do, he listened to the noise coming from the kitchen.

The sound of sorting out the groceries was replaced by the sound of chopping……

Doh……Doh……Doh……

The sound...

Dohdoh……Doh……

Doh……Dohdoh……Doh……

“Woah!” Layfon called at the irregular sound, and went over to the kitchen.

“Senpai……What’re you doing……”

“Don’t……talk to me.”

[[Image:CSR vol02 053.jpg|thumb]]
She fought the taro seriously with a knife in her hand. Felli held down the uneven, round taro on the chopping board with the tip of her trembling fingers, and slowly cut it in half. Sliced taro filled the salad bowl beside her.

“Senpai……”

“……What?” She hadn’t looked at him.

“Do you know how to cook?”

“Of……Of course.”

“Of course,” he smiled, nodding.

“……What?” she finally turned to him, her forehead adorned with droplets of sweat.

He smiled again. He wanted to laugh, but suppressed it.

“Wh…What is it?”

He could only laugh.

But he couldn't laugh to her face.

“Well. I have a suggestion.”

“And what is it?”

“It’ll be easier to cut the rest if you peel the skin off first.”

Her eyes widened.

He didn’t mean to hurt her dignity. All he wanted to do was give some advice, but he still wanted the food to be edible. No. He wasn't thinking of using another's kitchen and showing off his skill at cooking......

“Mm……This is delicious,” Karian nodded with satisfaction, chewing the chicken and taro cooked in tomato sauce.

“Ah……Thanks,” Layfon said, embarrassed.

“……”

Felli ate the food with disapproval.

“……What?”

“No-nothing.”

“……This is delicious.”

“……Thanks.”

In the end, Layfon made the dinner.

Because there was too much taro in the salad bowl, he used the taro to make another dish – one with mushrooms, chicken fillets and cream. They had plenty of ingredients to choose from. Next came the bread.

And that was their dinner.

“And I was thinking of eating dinner together at a nearby restaurant……It’s been a while since I've had a home-cooked meal. I’m really grateful.”

Karian made a happy face.

“Aaaa…Um, but it’s a shame this is a guy’s cooking.”Layfon sighed.

“It’s enough that you know how to cook! Do you like cooking?”Karian asked.

“Not really……Everyone had to help out back at the orphanage.”

“Oh, I see.”

Layfon didn’t know his parents. The Head of the orphanage picked him up when he was little. The Head was a Military Artist, and the person who discovered Layfon’s talent.

“I’m envious of your cooking skill. I wanted to learn how to cook after coming here, but it’s beyond my ability.”

Whether or not this was taken at face value, the idea that this sib(family) was unable to do something necessary to survive was alien to Layfon..

“And what did you want to talk about……”

“Oh, we can leave that for later. I want to enjoy the food.”

“Ah……”

Layfon wanted to finish what he came for and get out of here. Felli sat eating her food in a foul mood.

Karian also noticed her mood, but he did nothing about it.

''(Anyway, just finish dinner!)'' And Layfon concentrated on eating.

After dinner, Felli picked up the dishes and made tea for Layfon and her brother in the living room. The tea smelled nice. Felli seemed to have used some high class tea leaves.

“I want to show you this……” Karian said, giving Layfon no time to enjoy the tea. He took out a photo from a folder.

“I realized from the last attack on Zuellni that I had to have a bigger budget set aside for the city's defense.”

“That’s a good idea.”

Karian must have realized this since Zuellni hadn’t encountered filth monsters for a long time.

Zuellni was a peaceful city.

The city was populated entirely by students, so even the Electronic Fairy itself hadn’t been paying attention to the possibility of filth monsters nearby.

It sounded amazing that a city was run by students, but to put it in a worse light, it was a city full of immature youngsters.

“Thanks. So I’ve been sending off drones since then, and this image came back……”

A bad quality image. Everything was blurred.

This was due to the pollutants in the air, affecting any long range wireless communication. Somehow, only psychokinesis worked well for long-range transmitting, but it was still not possible to establish contact between cities.

This image had nothing to do with psychokinesis.

“It’s hard to make out, but the location of this image is a mountain about 500 Jimel ahead of Zuellni’s current position.”

Karian calqued(traced) his fingers around a shape in the mountains, so Layfon could finally see it.

“What I’m worried about is this area here.”

“What do you think?”

Layfon studied the image for some time. Then he placed it back on the desk and rubbed his tired eyes.

Felli stood to the side, looking at the photo.

“How is it?”

“I fear the same.”

“Hmm……” Karian leaned back on the sofa, troubled.

“What is this?” Felli asked.

“A filth monster.”

She glared at her brother. “Are you planning to use him again?”

“Relying on him is the only way we can survive,” he replied calmly.

“What's the point of having a Military Arts course!?”

“The true strength of Military Arts, Felli……You should understand now, thanks to what happened recently.”

“But……”

“Even I want him to focus just on the Military Arts competition, but this is an emergency. There’s no helping it. Then, what do you think?”

Karian’s finger pressed on the image of the filth monster.

“It’s probably a male. Compared to the size of this mountain, the filth monster’s either in its first or second phase.”

Newly born filth monsters were asexual – not male nor female. After a larva molted, it was a male. It absorbed pollutants from the air and went about searching for prey……Humans. Molting was measured in phases. The more it molted, the stronger it became. And as it approached the mating season, the male molted one more time and became female. A gravid(pregnant) female. It then buried itself beneath the ground and hibernated until the eggs hatched.

“The city I was born in hadn’t come across any filth monsters for a long time, so I can’t really tell how strong this is. You?”

“A filth monster in its first or second phase isn’t that horrible, but that’s when it isn’t attacking a city.”

“Um……”

“Almost all of the filth monsters enter their reproductive stage in their third to fifth phase. The most terrible are filth monsters who’ve given up on reproducing. They grow stronger as time passes.”

“Have you beaten one of these monsters?”

“With two other people. At the time, I thought I was going to die.”

The Loss siblings took a deep breath at that. Layfon observed their reaction without much of an emotion.

After dinner, he left the dormitory.

“Do you hate him?”

“You’ve asked me that before.”

His muscles froze in the middle of the staircase.

While Felli listened, Layfon answered with a wry smile.

“I’m not joking.”

“I know.”

“Very few people know you were a Heaven's Blade Receiver in Grendan. My brother doesn’t plan to spread it around, so you can just ignore his request.”

Almost no one knew it was Layfon who had defeated the attacking filth monsters.

The few who knew were Karian, Vance, and the members of the 17th platoon.

Not many people outside of Grendan knew about the Heaven's Blade Receivers. But even now, matches for the Heaven's Blade title were being fought fiercely in Grendan. People fought filth monsters and each other for the title of the strongest twelve.

“That can’t be announced casually.”

The Queen of Grendan took away Layfon’s title as a Heaven's Blade Receiver because he had tainted its name.

If everyone knew about his title, then they’d all know of his shameful past.

So he’d keep this a secret.

“Why didn’t you say you don’t want to do this? Don’t you want to give up Military Arts?”

"I want to, but right now..."

“Then why?”

“In the end, the filth monsters are the same as the Military Arts competition. Isn’t that so?” he replied, a bit surprised by how calm his voice was.

“You’re an idiot!”

“Ah, that’s too much.”

“You really are an idiot,” Felli repeated in a small voice.

He shrugged.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Chrome_Shelled_Regios:Volume2_Prologue|Prologue]]
| Return to [[Chrome_Shelled_Regios|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Chrome_Shelled_Regios:Volume2_Chapter2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Chrome Shelled Regios:Volume2 Chapter1

2009-12-07T08:15:33Z

Sonatazz:

===Chapter 1: Confusion===

How’ve you been?

My school life’s busy, but it’s more ordinary than yours. After I got your letters, a few more reached me at the same time. I don’t know when you’ll receive this letter, but I hope it will reach you faster than yours reached me. I’m happy that you haven’t given up the Military Arts. You’ve finally made a decision after going through a lot of trouble! I’d be embarrassed if you made up your mind because of my letter, but I’m still happy about that. I’ve made a new friend. It’s tiring to be around that interesting person. This must be what they call pros and cons.

The orphanage is still full of noise and life. Father has left the dojo, but he’s not teaching the kids at the orphanage; he’s gone to teach in a real dojo. It’s hard work to manage a dojo in Grendan, but people living nearby have enrolled, so we’re making money. We plan to apply for government funding, so don’t worry too much about the situation here. We’re not getting as much money as we were when you were helping here, but I think we can manage.

So how are you doing over there? Are you sick? Have you been eating well? I’m worried. You never pay much attention to the nutrients in your diet.

It seems you’ve made a lot of friends. I’m relieved that you’re not alone. But……how come they’re all girls?

That, I do mind.

Perhaps Layfon is a pervert?

I really should have protested more strongly about you going to Zuellni.

Ah, please take it as a joke. Right.

Oh yes, just to say, I’m happy that you haven’t given up the Military Arts! But I don’t want you to become the Layfon you were in Grendan. I envy the Layfon training with all his concentration on the Military Arts. You looked cool. But I didn’t like the Layfon who became a Heaven's Blade Receiver. Do you understand the difference?

When the letter first came, there was this interesting topic. Maybe you'll be surprised, but I won’t tell you just yet. It’d be great if it can surprise you a bit.

I’ll write to you again.

To my dear Layfon Wolfstein Alseif.

Leerin Marfes.

……Delicate fingers folded the letter along old folds. Praying that nobody would discover this, she put the letter back into the correct mailbox.

<center>◇</center>

Forbidden from living on the polluted earth, humans lived in mobile cities.

As if floating on the earth, the cities move according to their own consciousnesses and maintained contact through the center of the traffic network, the Traffic City Joeldem.

The network wasn’t reliable, but it was a way to connect them.

Academy City.

Within the ranks of the Regios were cities of different functions. This type of city, specializing in education, moved within this unstable network.

It gathered boys and girls, letting them study knowledge.

In here, where no adults set foot, children were learners and also teachers.

This was the Academy City.

And Zuellni was one of the Academy Cities.

Sunlight shot through into a classroom that was filled with a boisterous atmosphere before class began. The students entering the classroom placed their bags behind their seats and either joined into different conversation circles or prepared for class. Some ran about, asking for notes to copy. Some stayed immersed in their own world.

Surrendering to the urge to sleep, Layfon bent over his desk.

“Oh~~Morning!”

“Ha!”

The other person gave his back a heavy hit.

“What? What? You look tired!”

“Uh! Wha……Mor……Morning……” Layfon coughed.

“Mii-chan, you went over the line.”

“Yeah, maybe Layton still hasn’t recovered from the match.”Naruki said.

“Oh, wasn’t that two days ago?"

Mifi puffed up her cheeks. “As if Layton would get tired just because of that. Right?”

“Yeah……Uh, the match wasn't tiring. I’m ok.”

“…But you look like you wanted to sleep.”

“No, really, I’m fine.”

Looking at Meishen’s worried eyes, he nodded in a carefree manner. Her eyes were always teary. He didn’t know what to do about that.

“Even so, you look tired. What is it? Did you have to work yesterday too?” Naruki studied him. Her tall presence made him feel like he was being interrogated.

“It’s alright.”

“I see. Well, working for days at a time can be tiring.”

“……It’s hard work to clean the Mechanism Chamber.”

“Yeah. If you seriously want to prepare for the platoon matches, I think it’s better for you to quit the cleaning job.”

These three girls knew each other before they came to Zuellni.

Layfon met them because he stopped the riot at the opening ceremony.

And that was also the reason he was transferred into the Military Arts.

But these three had nothing to do with his transfer. The Student President, Karian Loss, knew from the beginning who Layfon was.

A Heaven's Blade Receiver in Grendan.

“No……I’m getting used to cleaning there already,” he said as he smiled at Meishen.

The cleaning job in the Central Mechanism – cleaning the heart of the Regios – Layfon really had gotten used to it. The repetitive body work was way more relaxing than using his brain.

“Then what is it?” Mifi asked.

“Ahhahahah…Um, something.” He gave a vague response.

“……Are you hiding something?”

“No. Definitely not!”

“No, you have a secret! Don’t think this can escape my eyes! Hurry up and tell us before you get it!”

“Get it……”

Her pair of questioning eyes came closer. No one could stop Mifi when she was deep in her passion to collect and record any information.

“Tell, tell, tell……”

“Ah……” A troubled smile appeared on Layfon’s face.

Naruki grabbed the back of Mifi’s uniform and dragged her away.

“Didn’t we have to tell him something? Class is about to begin.”

“Huh?”

“Ah. That’s right. Geez...Because Mei is always staggering, we almost forgot about it.”

“……Is it my fault?” Meishen said, sulking.

“Well, Mifi’s always making a huge ruckus. Hurry up, Mei-chan!”

“……Ah!”

Naruki pushed Meishen. Meishen walked forward, facing Layfon, her face a fiery red.

“……Um...”

“Yes?” Layfon sat up.

“…Lunch…I made a bento. Do you want to eat together?”

“Huh?”

“We’re always eating out for lunch, so Meishen’s decided to make us a bento,” Naruki said.

Meishen nodded at her, her face so red, it seemed like smoke was about to rise from her head.

It was true. Since his first day here, he'd always been buying bread for lunch. He had helped out in the orphanage so he knew how to cook, but because of his late shift in the Central Mechanism, he spent more time sleeping late in the morning.

“Ah……Is that ok?”

“……Hmm.”

“Mei-chan loves to cook. Just be thankful and accept her goodwill.”

Wondering whether the continuously nodding Meishen was becoming a robot, Layfon smiled happily.

“Then, thank you.”

Meishen stopped nodding.

<center>◇</center>

“I’m jealous!” Harley said, after having listened to Layfon talk about Meishen’s invitation to lunch. He was looking at the display.

“Thank's for the compliment,” Layfon nodded, holding a green Dite with a wire connecting one of its ends to Harley’s machine.

“No, that's not what I meant.”

“Um...?”

“Uh, I meant…I also want a girlfriend!”

Layfon came to the training complex after for platoon training and was accosted by Harley to do some checking.

The intense sound of training in other rooms drifted past the walls and into the boys’ ears.

Only Layfon and Harley were in the room.

“That's wrong! We aren’t lovers! She just likes to cook.”

Harley sighed and shook his head.

“Oh, that’s right. What’s this for?” Layfon had been sending his Kei into the sword.

[[Image:CSR vol02 023.jpg|thumb]]
There were two types of Kei, a destructive Kei that flowed externally and an internal Kei that strengthened the physical body. They were the skills that Military Artists used.

“Well, there’s something I wanted to check.”

“Um……” Layfon continued to extend his Kei into the blade, not knowing what he was doing it for. The sword emitted soft green light.

The vein of Kei made him feel like he'd grown a new limb. The vein extended into the blade to feel its heat and caressed the wind around it.

Harley sighed in admiration. “Your concentration of Kei is incredible! In this case, isn't it better to use the white Dite? That’ll increase the conductive rate.”

“Really?”

Layfon was actually unsatisfied with it. It wasn’t as good as the Heaven's Blade he'd used in Grendan.

(The Heaven's Blade was also made from white Dite.)

But it was useless to compare the two. In the end, the sword was made to fight the filth monsters.

“So I was able the use the weapon before because of my amount of Kei.”

Not long before, the filth monsters had attacked Zuellni.

Zuellni’s multi-legs were trapped in a filth monster’s nest. With Layfon’s help that crisis has been resolved.

Harley had made a new adjustment to the Dite at Layfon’s request.

A weapon that could be divided into countless wires.

Layfon used that to wipe out the larvae. He even stepped outside the city to eliminate the mother.

“But they took that weapon. Oh, this is fine.”

The Student President and Vance had confiscated the weapon. It gave too much of an advantage to Layfon in a platoon match.

The Dite Layfon was now holding was newly made.

“Well, I didn’t plan to use that weapon in the platoon matches anyway.”

He cut off his Kei flow and lowered the sword. The residual heat from his Kei remained in his body, making him sweat.

“Really? If you used that, it would've been easy to win a platoon match.”

“True, but isn’t it pointless to win through that method?”

“Really?”

“Yes. Besides, the captain would never approve of it.”

“Ah, true, true.” A sour smile appeared on Harley’s face.

“She wouldn’t be happy, winning through other people’s strength.”

“Yeah,” Layfon nodded and swung the sword.

Having released so much Kei, he wanted to exercise his limbs.

It was a casual swing from high to low. The remaining Kei on the blade disappeared along with the scattering green light of the Dite.

He confirmed his body condition by swinging the sword, and while dong that, he adjusted his different moves.

Slowly swinging the sword again and again, focusing his attention to one single point. He no longer detected the color of Kei emitting from the blade. The feeling he had had till now, of the changes in his nerves, slowly extended to the outside, resulting in the feeling that Layfon was swinging the sword like a machine.

And as he concentrated more, even that robotic feeling was pushed outside of his consciousness. He had become empty, whereas everything else was painted with colour.

He swung at that colour.

The point of his blade tore a track through the intangible air. This action repeated itself again and again. No matter how many wounds blossomed in the air, more air rushed in to fill it. He repeated his motion, and only stopped when the wound, affecting the flow of air, was unable to recover.

Unenthusiastic clapping sounded.

“Haha, brilliant!”

Sharnid had been watching at the door.

“Seems like it’s been cut up to so many pieces that it just died.”

“It’s not that incredible……”

“But it really is! The wind pressure was strong when you first swung your sword, but in that last swing, the wind pressure just vanished……It was amazing,” Harley said excitedly.

Layfon scratched his head, embarrassed by Harley’s kiddy excitement.

Then Sharnid poured cold water on Harley’s emotion. “Harley, have you finished what I asked for before?”

“Oh, yes, yes. It’s already done.”

Harley opened a box beside him and took out two Dites.

The two Dites were like rods of charcoal. They had curved handles that were smooth and polished. In the bend of the handles were metal rings, hiding a hook like thing.

“Are they guns?”

Sharnid’s job was to support the team with long range fire.

“It won’t do to snipe when we have so few fighters on our team. Just think of it as insurance,” Sharnid said. He used his Kei to restore the Dites.

“What a crude appearance!”

The body of the gun looked very heavy. There were no blades extending from above and below, but the shape looked sharp. The gun was designed with several bulging points. Either way, it looked like some type of attacking weapon.

And Layfon could tell the texture was not of light Dite, but the hard black Dite.

The same material of Nina’s iron whips.

“I used black Dites as requested, but the shooting range isn’t as long because of the bad conductive rate for the Kei flow.”

“Not bad. I don’t plan to shoot long distance with this thing. As long as it can hit anyone within ten Mei, it's fine with me.”

He placed his fingers on the triggers, practising with his new Dites. He reversed the gun barrels.

“Is this close-quarters gun combat?”

Sharnid whistled. “As expected of someone from Grendan. You do know a lot.”

“Ah, I think even people not from Grendan would know……”

“What is close-quarters gun combat?” Harley asked.

To put it simply, this was martial arts using guns. Guns had the advantage with long range combat, but compared with swords and daggers, they were slow in terms of close-quarters combat.

And so a new type of gun skill was invented to overcome this weakness. The skill of close-quarters gun combat.

“Ah……Sharnid senpai knows how to use it?”

“Well, people who know how to use this are either stupid people that try to look cool, or amazing fighters……And I’m the former,” he said with a cunning smile.

Not sure whether Sharnid was speaking the truth or not, Layfon looked at Harley, who only shrugged.

“……I’m late.”

Came the clear and small voice. It was Felli.

Her form was as exquisite as glass art, giving off a pressure as if to freeze everything in her vicinity, but Layfon and the guys were already used to this.

“Felli-chan’s cute today too,” Sharnid commented.

“Thanks……” She glanced at the guns in his hand, and sat down on the long bench in a corner, already losing interest.

Harley checked Felli’s Dite and said “Nina’s the only one not here.”

“Meaning she’s the last!”

“Seems so.”

Nina was more determined than anyone to strengthen the 17th platoon. She was always the first to arrive for training, but today, she hadn’t shown up yet.

“I remember her saying she had something to do……”

“I think she’s not keen at all,” Sharnid yawned.

And just as he said, a lazy atmosphere filled the room.

Not knowing what to say, Layfon gazed at his sword.

''(A lot has happened after the match.)''

Revealing his real strength in the first platoon match was a setback for Nina.

This time, he kept himself at the same level as the rest of the platoon and fought seriously.

But in the end, they lost the match.

He didn’t do his best. It was meaningless to hide his strength anymore, and he agreed with Nina that they had to protect the city. Even so, he tried to fight with some will.

And the reason for his not giving his all in the fight was because the platoon match wasn’t the real Military Arts competition.

Layfon’s strength would be needed after the platoon matches.

At some time, mobiles cities would approach nearby cities and fight for territory.

In reality, it was the people living in the city who fought.

And warred.

The reason behind the fight was the fuel source for the Regios – selenium mines.

For some reason, a city would only fight against the same kind of city. To reduce the number of casualties, Academy Cities had introduced the Military Arts competition. But even so, this couldn’t change the reality that the losing city might die.

Zuellni once had three selenium mines. When Layfon came to study, it only had one mine left.

If they lost in the next Military Arts competition, Zuellni would have lost its one and only mine, and face death.

At first, Layfon didn’t understand what this had to do with him. He felt it was unfair, for he had already decided to give up Military Arts.

Despite that, it didn’t feel bad to do what he could for the city.

But……

One of the key people who changed his way of thinking, Nina, was not happy.

Against her parents’ wishes, Nina ran away from home and came to Zuellni – Without money, she had to work in the Core Mechanism.

Layfon was also half-studying and half-working.

He always bumped into her at work. Recently, they'd earned the trust their supervisor and were assigned together to clean a larger area.

Layfon had been working from midnight till dawn beside the wordless Nina.

''(This is tiring……)''

Thinking back, he felt he had never been through such a long night. Anyone could see the unhappiness on her face.

''(Is it really because we lost the match?)'' He thought.

But if he was the cause…That part he didn’t understand.

Speaking of which……

''(Shouldn’t I speak with her?)''

He was being indecisive about it. And time passed as he brooded.

“If there’s no practice, can I go back?” Felli said listlessly.

“Just wait a little bit more!” Harley said. He had already finished checking her Dite, and he had nothing to do. Sharnid was leaning against the wall with eyes closed. Perhaps he really was sleeping. Felli squinted at Layfon beneath her long eyelashes, her sharp gaze reproaching him.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Nina’s voice saved him from Fellis’ sharp gaze.

Nina was in her third year, a junior, but she had become the captain of a platoon.

“You really are slow, Nina. What’ve you been doing? I almost fell asleep!” Sharnid yawned. To him, a fourth year, Nina was younger, so he didn’t call her captain.

“I had to look into something, and it took some time.” She walked to the center of the training room. The Dites in her harness gave off metallic noise as she moved.

Doubt rose in Layfon.

The sound that was usually reliable and convincing now felt unnatural.

The sound of the Dites…showed she wasn't walking normally.

Nina might have sustained wounds in the previous match, but she didn’t look injured. She didn’t walk carefully so as not to jar a wound.

“It’s late. We won't be training today.”

“Why?”

Everyone was shocked. Even Felli widened her beautiful eyes, watching Nina with suspicion.

Layfon felt the same.

Nina formed a platoon to give something back to Zuellni. It was because of her passion that he felt it was okay for him to step back onto the path of Military Arts. And it wasn’t just her. Meishen, Mifi, Naruki…They followed their dreams with an honest heart.

Even though the thing that really encouraged him was the letter from his childhood friend, Leerin.

“So, why?” Sharnid said.

Layfon wasn’t just surprised at her canceling the training, but today’s Nina seemed to lack something. Just like the sound coming off the Dites in her harness. Something he couldn’t quite grasp……

“I’m thinking of changing the training method. Sorry, we’ll just cancel today’s training.”

“Sure……”

“Go do individual training if you want. Dismissed.”

She left the training room.

Layfon watched her back.

The two Dites bumped against each other.

It really was an uneasy sound.

<center>◇</center>

She realized this when she was panting heavily and had to stop. She pressed her palm against on her chest, just above her heart, and realized that feeling of coarseness was gone.

“Heh?”

She searched in the pockets of her uniform. The breast pocket, inside pocket, dress pocket, her schoolbag.

It was gone.

The letter she was supposed to give to Layfon was gone.

It was still on her when she left the classroom. She had wanted to give it to him in the room, but while she hesitated and tried to find an opening, he had left. Meishen chased after him, to the training complex, but as a General Studies student she wasn’t sure whether she should enter the building, so she could only wait at the entrance.

''(I can give it to him tomorrow……Isn’t it better to hand it over now? Should I go in? Would I be interrupting? Should I just wait here till he finishes training……?)''

She couldn’t wait for long, as it was almost time for her shift at the coffee shop.

She had checked that she still had the letter while thinking outside the training complex.

She'd had the letter then.

While checking to be sure that the letter really wasn’t on her, she couldn’t help but think what would happen next.

That letter had been stuffed into the crack between the door and the wall with other letters at the dormitory. Besides the letter from her parents, she also found letters from close relatives and friends – and when Meishen was happily checking the names on the letters, she found this name.

Leerin Marfes.

A name she hadn't heard of before. She checked the name of the receiver, and held her breath.

It was Layfon.

She realized that the letter must have been delivered to the wrong place. She and Layfon lived in different dormitories with different room numbers. This letter was mistakenly delivered to her room by some coincidence.

Thinking of this, she was glad that she got to chat with Layfon. She could always talk to him, but it was another thing to talk about serious matters.

But……

''(Leerin……This is a girl’s name, right?)''

If only she could ignore this name and stay immersed in happiness.

''(What is their relationship? Friends?......What if they’re lovers?)''

Uneasiness filled her chest.

''(……But, to peek into another person’s letter……)''

Her fingers shook. Looking at someone else’s letter wasn’t worth praising.

''(But……)''

She really did mind it. If this Leerin was someone important to Layfon, then what about Meishen herself?

She was afraid, thinking that the truth could be written in this letter. Even if she just left the letter alone, she’d probably have insomnia.

''(No……But……But……)''

Shaky fingers lightly touched the covering of the envelop. She mustn’t peel it off too obviously. Lightly, lightly……

''(Ahah……)''

And she read what was inside.

What she felt afterwards were a sense of self-hatred and rivalry.

She relaxed, knowing she herself was the only one looking after Layfon’s diet. Yet at the same time, she was jealous of the time that Layfon had spent with Leerin.

The guilt and self-hatred of peeking into another’s letter stayed with Meishen. She had decided to give him back the letter when she was making him a bento. She had wanted to, but somehow dragged it out till after school……

……And now this had happened.

“……But it was there earlier.”

She wanted to cry, her eyes feeling hot and her body weak. She sat down on the ground, hugging her schoolbag and searched in her memories for a hint.

“……Oh!”

Perhaps……

Because ‘she’ had appeared before Meishen, who was determined to stand outside the complex and wait for Layfon. She didn’t mind being late to her job at the coffee shop, since this was her fault. But when Meishen had worked up her courage, ‘she’ appeared.

Felli Loss.

Hearing Felli’s question, asking what Meishen wanted with Layfon, the determination Meishen held vanished like a puff of smoke, and she ran off as if she was escaping.

She must have dropped the letter then.

“Uuuu……”

She could do nothing without Naruki and Mifi. She hated herself for getting nervous before unfamiliar people. Once again, she returned to the training complex, searching for the letter on the ground – and failed to find it.

<center>◇</center>

“I find it strange,” Felli murmured in incomprehension as she went home.

Nobody felt like training after Nina left, so they just dispersed. Sharnid left immediately to go somewhere, and Harley went back to his lab after saying to Layfon “I’ll find you if something comes up.”

Layfon and Felli ended up leaving together, as their dormitories lay in the same direction.

Felli was one year older than Layfon, but she looked like a girl just a little over 10 years of age.

“She actually suggested we cancel training. This doesn’t feel right.”

Layfon smiled sourly at her.

“What?”

“……Nothing. Senpai’s worried about the captain, so……” He smiled. Felli glared at him, her pale face turning pink.

Felli’s level of psychokinesis was of the level of a genius, but she being used. She was in the 17th platoon because her brother Karian Loss, the Student President, forced her into it.

“As if I’d worry about her,” she said.

“I meant that her coming up with weird ideas doesn't feel right."

Felli increased her pace, her argent hair fluttering behind her.

The male students walking past the pair couldn’t help but stop and look at her.

Layfon caught up with her, walking past the dreamy-eyed male students. “But, it really is strange.”

Even if she were changing the training methods, there was no need to cancel today's session.

''(It was more like she was distracted by something else.)''

That's what Layfon thought.

However, he didn't know what it was.

He remembered Nina’s attitude at work last night.

A cold expression coupled with silence. Was it really because they lost the match?

Perhaps she was thinking of something else.

“But I still don’t get it.”

“Are you still thinking?” Felli said, angry.“Please slow down.”

“Oh, sorry.” He had sped up his pace unconsciously.

The Felli he knew now always had some sort of expression on her face. This was different from when he first met her. Neutral. A face like a doll’s.

“You won’t find the answer by thinking too much. All you need is to observe more keenly.”

“True,” he nodded.

“Compared to that……”

“What?”

“Nothing.” Her lips moved, then, clamped down altogether.

“?”

“My brother……wants you.”

“The Student President needs me?” Layfon frowned.

Knowing Layfon's past, Karian had forced him into the Military Arts department.

“I wasn't told why, but he said it’s important.”

Felli was also unhappy.

“Shall we go and meet him?”

Why didn’t she just tell him at school?

“No,” she shook her head.

“He said it’s secret……We’ll talk at my place.”

“……What?”

“I need to buy groceries for dinner. Please come with me.”

Why Felli’s place?

Before he could ask that question, she had strolled ahead of him.

He followed silently.

And now he was holding shopping bags in both of his hands.

''(Just how many days of groceries has she bought?)''

Felli was also walking with her hands full.

Instead of parting at the usual place, they headed for Felli’s dormitory. Layfon felt uneasy walking in an unfamiliar part of the city.

“……It looks big.”

It looked more like a villa than a dormitory. On the first floor was a big living room enclosed in glass walls. A spiral staircase (next to the sofa) took them up to the second floor.

Layfon clearly felt the gap between the rich and poor as he pushed open the engraved door.

It was too naïve of him to get so excited over having a twin room all to himself.

A wide corridor stretched ahead to another spacious living room, and from there was a door that led to more rooms.

“Please leave the groceries over there.”

The kitchen was about the same size as Layfon’s room. He didn’t know whether to feel comforted or disappointed by this.

“Please wait outside. I’m going to make dinner.”

Layfon put down the groceries and went to sit on the sofa in the living room. A desk, a magazine bookcase…Small oil paintings adorned the walls, looking as if they were just put up to have something cover the bare walls. The room felt dry and tasteless.

There were actually two doors leading from the living room.

One of the doors must lead to Felli’s room.

Then the other……?

''(I see. She lives with the Student President.)''

This wasn’t surprising, since they were siblings.

''(So why does this meeting have to be a secret?)''

The Student President had somehow obtained information about Layfon’s past, but the two of them weren’t close enough to share each other’s secrets.

In truth, Layfon didn’t want to meet Karian.

''(Well, there’s no point in thinking about it. I’ll find out soon enough,)'' he decided, recalling Felli’s advice.

With nothing to do, he listened to the noise coming from the kitchen.

The sound of sorting out the groceries was replaced by the sound of chopping……

Doh……Doh……Doh……

The sound...

Dohdoh……Doh……

Doh……Dohdoh……Doh……

“Woah!” Layfon called at the irregular sound, and went over to the kitchen.

“Senpai……What’re you doing……”

“Don’t……talk to me.”

[[Image:CSR vol02 053.jpg|thumb]]
She fought the taro seriously with a knife in her hand. Felli held down the uneven, round taro on the chopping board with the tip of her trembling fingers, and slowly cut it in half. Sliced taro filled the salad bowl beside her.

“Senpai……”

“……What?” She hadn’t looked at him.

“Do you know how to cook?”

“Of……Of course.”

“Of course,” he smiled, nodding.

“……What?” she finally turned to him, her forehead adorned with droplets of sweat.

He smiled again. He wanted to laugh, but suppressed it.

“Wh…What is it?”

He could only laugh.

But he couldn't laugh to her face.

“Well. I have a suggestion.”

“And what is it?”

“It’ll be easier to cut the rest if you peel the skin off first.”

Her eyes widened.

He didn’t mean to hurt her dignity. All he wanted to do was give some advice, but he still wanted the food to be edible. No. He wasn't thinking of using another's kitchen and showing off his skill at cooking......

“Mm……This is delicious,” Karian nodded with satisfaction, chewing the chicken and taro cooked in tomato sauce.

“Ah……Thanks,” Layfon said, embarrassed.

“……”

Felli ate the food with disapproval.

“……What?”

“No-nothing.”

“……This is delicious.”

“……Thanks.”

In the end, Layfon made the dinner.

Because there was too much taro in the salad bowl, he used the taro to make another dish – one with mushrooms, chicken fillets and cream. They had plenty of ingredients to choose from. Next came the bread.

And that was their dinner.

“And I was thinking of eating dinner together at a nearby restaurant……It’s been a while since I've had a home-cooked meal. I’m really grateful.”

Karian made a happy face.

“Aaaa…Um, but it’s a shame this is a guy’s cooking.”Layfon sighed.

“It’s enough that you know how to cook! Do you like cooking?”Karian asked.

“Not really……Everyone had to help out back at the orphanage.”

“Oh, I see.”

Layfon didn’t know his parents. The Head of the orphanage picked him up when he was little. The Head was a Military Artist, and the person who discovered Layfon’s talent.

“I’m envious of your cooking skill. I wanted to learn how to cook after coming here, but it’s beyond my ability.”

Whether or not this was taken at face value, the idea that this sib(family) was unable to do something necessary to survive was alien to Layfon..

“And what did you want to talk about……”

“Oh, we can leave that for later. I want to enjoy the food.”

“Ah……”

Layfon wanted to finish what he came for and get out of here. Felli sat eating her food in a foul mood.

Karian also noticed her mood, but he did nothing about it.

''(Anyway, just finish dinner!)'' And Layfon concentrated on eating.

After dinner, Felli picked up the dishes and made tea for Layfon and her brother in the living room. The tea smelled nice. Felli seemed to have used some high class tea leaves.

“I want to show you this……” Karian said, giving Layfon no time to enjoy the tea. He took out a photo from a folder.

“I realized from the last attack on Zuellni that I had to have a bigger budget set aside for the city's defense.”

“That’s a good idea.”

Karian must have realized this since Zuellni hadn’t encountered filth monsters for a long time.

Zuellni was a peaceful city.

The city was populated entirely by students, so even the Electronic Fairy itself hadn’t been paying attention to the possibility of filth monsters nearby.

It sounded amazing that a city was run by students, but to put it in a worse light, it was a city full of immature youngsters.

“Thanks. So I’ve been sending off drones since then, and this image came back……”

A bad quality image. Everything was blurred.

This was due to the pollutants in the air, affecting any long range wireless communication. Somehow, only psychokinesis worked well for long-range transmitting, but it was still not possible to establish contact between cities.

This image had nothing to do with psychokinesis.

“It’s hard to make out, but the location of this image is a mountain about 500 Jimel ahead of Zuellni’s current position.”

Karian calqued(traced) his fingers around a shape in the mountains, so Layfon could finally see it.

“What I’m worried about is this area here.”

“What do you think?”

Layfon studied the image for some time. Then he placed it back on the desk and rubbed his tired eyes.

Felli stood to the side, looking at the photo.

“How is it?”

“I fear the same.”

“Hmm……” Karian leaned back on the sofa, troubled.

“What is this?” Felli asked.

“A filth monster.”

She glared at her brother. “Are you planning to use him again?”

“Relying on him is the only way we can survive,” he replied calmly.

“What's the point of having a Military Arts course!?”

“The true strength of Military Arts, Felli……You should understand now, thanks to what happened recently.”

“But……”

“Even I want him to focus just on the Military Arts competition, but this is an emergency. There’s no helping it. Then, what do you think?”

Karian’s finger pressed on the image of the filth monster.

“It’s probably a male. Compared to the size of this mountain, the filth monster’s either in its first or second phase.”

Newly born filth monsters were asexual – not male nor female. After a larva molted, it was a male. It absorbed pollutants from the air and went about searching for prey……Humans. Molting was measured in phases. The more it molted, the stronger it became. And as it approached the mating season, the male molted one more time and became female. A gravid(pregnant) female. It then buried itself beneath the ground and hibernated until the eggs hatched.

“The city I was born in hadn’t come across any filth monsters for a long time, so I can’t really tell how strong this is. You?”

“A filth monster in its first or second phase isn’t that horrible, but that’s when it isn’t attacking a city.”

“Um……”

“Almost all of the filth monsters enter their reproductive stage in their third to fifth phase. The most terrible are filth monsters who’ve given up on reproducing. They grow stronger as time passes.”

“Have you beaten one of these monsters?”

“With two other people. At the time, I thought I was going to die.”

The Loss siblings took a deep breath at that. Layfon observed their reaction without much of an emotion.

After dinner, he left the dormitory.

“Do you hate him?”

“You’ve asked me that before.”

His muscles froze in the middle of the staircase.

While Felli listened, Layfon answered with a wry smile.

“I’m not joking.”

“I know.”

“Very few people know you were a Heaven's Blade Receiver in Grendan. My brother doesn’t plan to spread it around, so you can just ignore his request.”

Almost no one knew it was Layfon who had defeated the attacking filth monsters.

The few who knew were Karian, Vance, and the members of the 17th platoon.

Not many people outside of Grendan knew about the Heaven's Blade Receivers. But even now, matches for the Heaven's Blade title were being fought fiercely in Grendan. People fought filth monsters and each other for the title of the strongest twelve.

“That can’t be announced casually.”

The Queen of Grendan took away Layfon’s title as a Heaven's Blade Receiver because he had tainted its name.

If everyone knew about his title, then they’d all know of his shameful past.

So he’d keep this a secret.

“Why didn’t you say you don’t want to do this? Don’t you want to give up Military Arts?”

"I want to, but right now..."

“Then why?”

“In the end, the filth monsters are the same as the Military Arts competition. Isn’t that so?” he replied, a bit surprised by how calm his voice was.

“You’re an idiot!”

“Ah, that’s too much.”

“You really are an idiot,” Felli repeated in a small voice.

He shrugged.

<noinclude>
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</noinclude>

Chrome Shelled Regios:Volume1 Chapter1

2009-12-07T06:03:42Z

Sonatazz:

===Chapter 1: School begins===

Since leaving you, I’ve been on the bus for a month and have finally arrived at Zuellni. I made it to the opening ceremony for the term. During my journey, I changed five buses. Living in only one city back then, I never realized travelling could be so taxing. It’s really tiring and difficult to reach another city, since all cities move according to their own consciousness. I never understood why the alchemists back in the old times gave the cities self-consciousness. But that was so to enable them to avoid the filth monsters and save us. I can now think deeper on this issue.

During my journey, I once saw a group of filth monsters at a close distance. Their cruel and dangerous appearance is really appalling. The thought of being attacked on a bus with nowhere to escape to was enough to raise all of my hairs.

But don’t worry, our bus didn’t get attacked. I think our driver was quite the professional. He made the bus stop for three days to avoid discovery. At that time, I felt pain in my heart. It was terrifying to be attacked by the filth monsters. Compared to that though, it would be worse for the bus to sustain heavy damage and be marooned on this dry and scarlet earth. We had no way of surviving. Even so, in the end, I arrived safely at Zuellni.

I’m writing this letter in the dormitory at Zuellni. It’s a twin room, and luckily, no one else’s living here beside me. I’ve never lived in a room all to myself. Really happy about this.

How are you doing over there? Getting used to your new life?

I just realize that I still don’t know your address. I’ll send the letter to your school. Hope it can arrive safely to your hand. It’d be great if you could include your new address in the return letter. Though I lived at the orphanage, the head wouldn’t want to receive my letter.

Well –

I wish for eternal peace for your new life and the city you’re standing on.

To my dear Leerin Marfes.

Layfon Alseif

<center>◇</center>

The self-moving cities, Regios, spread across the world in their own forms, ranging from the simple, standard form that provides everything for human survival, to forms that strengthen particular areas.

One of that forms is the Academy City.

Zuellni – The Academy City Zuellni.

The school buildings in the center of the city provided facilities for all study areas.

Large groups of students were heading for the great hall that was large enough to accommodate all students inside.

Dressed casually, the General Studies students walked as they chatted with friends.

Reluctant smiles surfaced on Agricultural and Mechanical Engineering students who weren’t used to the uniforms that they hadn’t worn for a long while.

The Alchemy and Medical students wore dirty white coats on top of their uniforms.

The Military Arts students, who differed from others, stepped towards the hall with heads lifted high.

Students with different characteristics were each swallowed into the interior of the hall.

The purpose of this autonomous city was to exist for and be used by students. Today, it held an opening ceremony to receive new first year students.

But it looked like the ceremony would be delayed.

One hour later.

[[image:CSR vol01 021.jpg|thumb]]
Layfon stood with a confused expression on his face.

“Anyway, shall we sit down and talk?”

“Ye-Yes!”

Having given a tense answer, he still couldn’t sit on the sofa as instructed.

The student before him sat at a large business desk. He was different from Layfon in his adult-like aura. Silvery white hair decorated the elegant face filled with a gentle expression, but his calm and judging silver eyes were fixed on Layfon.

That piercing gaze of his caused Layfon to dart his gaze around in panic. Through his shoes, he could feel the softness of the carpet beneath him. The sofa and table used for reception lay before him. A bookshelf lined one of the walls, filled with informative scrolls.

Before Layfon entered this room, he saw the name of the room carved with “Student president” on it.

“I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Karian Loss, a sixth year student.”

It was six years of studies in Zuellni, so Loss was in the highest grade.

And he was also the Student President.

The person in charge of this school.

“I’m Layfon Alseif.”

With a straight back, Layfon clearly delivered his name. He felt cold sweat beading his forehead.

Karian smiled.

They were alone in the room.

“I wasn’t planning on punishing you.”

The voice tinged with a bitter smile helped Layfon to calm down. He’d been tense all the while, as he had no idea why he had been summoned to this room.

“First, let me convey my gratitude. Because of your help, none of the new students were injured.”

The opening ceremony was cancelled because of a commotion.

Two Military Arts students, being from enemy cities, had met by chance before the ceremony, resulting in the commotion. They went from staring to quarreling and eventually to fighting.

Military Arts – Different special powers were born to protect humanity from harm on this polluted earth.

The Military Arts is the area that fostered such special power users.

If people fought each other seriously using such powers, worse coming to worst, even normal students would have suffered injuries or death. In Karian’s eyes was genuine gratitude.

“The new rule that only allows new students to be armed after half a year is because some of them don’t understand where they now are……This is unbearable. It's a huge amount of work for me to settle things every year.

But, it was still people who used weapons. Sometimes a single fight might turn into a group fight that would draw blood.

To the Student President who had been smiling bitterly but talking with a straightforward and frank manner, Layfon could only respond confusedly.

“Speaking of which, a General Studies student who managed to outdo Military Arts students. You must have some skills in the Arts area, don’t you?”

“It’s just a hobby. Um……”

Silence from the Student President made Layfon swallow.

“If yours is just the level of a hobbyist, then we ought to increase the admission standards for the Military Arts major.”

''The news about the fight between Military Arts students at the opening ceremony had spread to new students in other courses. New students arriving at Zuellni constituted a diverse background. Besides the students getting involved in the fight, there were foreigners whom nobody liked. The dangerous atmosphere spreading out from the Military Arts center was influencing students from other courses.

The rioting atmosphere also affected the General Studies area. Students closer to the fight scene bumped and crashed into each other while escaping, igniting the adolescent anger sleeping in male students.

Just when everything was about to get out of hand, a huge noise echoed throughout the hall.

Immediate silence followed, and all eyes turned to the source of that noise.

Where the two students who started the commotion lay immobile on the floor with Layfon standing between them.''

“That was just luck. They were blinded by anger and didn’t even notice me.”

“Yes, yes.”

Karian happily nodded at Layfon’s excuse. He was smiling with his face, but not his eyes. Again, Layfon felt the Student President had seen through him.

Honestly, this wasn’t a comfortable feeling.

While bearing the pressure that he felt would force him into some dangerous place, Layfon attempted to end this conversation.

“Since I haven’t done anything wrong, I’m returning to class.”

“You can’t!”

Karian prevented Layfon from turning his back to him.

The short denial halted Layfon’s footsteps.

“As I said, I’ve no intention of punishing you, Layfon ''Wolfstein'' Alseif.”

The title in between name and surname caused Layfon to raise his eyebrows.

“…… What does that mean?”

“I don’t care if you continue to play the fool. Here’s a suggestion. Layfon Alseif, how about changing from General Studies to the Military Arts?”

“What?”

“Luckily, there are now two empty slots in Military Arts thanks to those two troublemakers. We have a rule here preventing students from bringing the issues of their home cities into the academy. Those who signed the contract and broke it during the opening ceremony don’t have the right to be fighters. The blame for the riot is on them, so I’ve already banished them in the form of their 'voluntary withdrawal' from the course.”

“No, please wait.”

The two students were not important to Layfon.

“I don’t plan to change majors.”

He clearly conveyed his opinion. To switch to the Military Arts…… don’t kid him.

“I came here to study General Studies.”

“Military Arts is a study area too. No, no matter what course you’re in, General Studies is compulsory till third year. Even if you pick General Studies, you still have to specialize in something after three years, so you aren’t learning different things by switching.”

“The problem doesn’t lie there.”

“So what is the problem?”

Faced with that question, he found his breath being caught in his throat.

“……I have no interest in Military Arts.”

“I see,” Karian gave an exaggerated nod. It was clearly an act. The expression in his eyes hardly changed, just a twisted curve of happiness.

“Besides I’m on a scholarship. I’ve already applied for a job and studies. I've got to work in my spare time. I won’t have enough energy left for Military Arts.”

“I see. That’s a good argument.”

Karian was only agreeing with his mouth. He didn’t look persuaded at all.

He took out a document from a drawer.

“Um, Layfon Alseif, D-Rank scholarship, part-time work and studies. Your job is to clean the Central Mechanism Chamber…… I see, this is a taxing and time-consuming job. Do you know that the cleaning takes place while the city rests from after sunset to past midnight? A lot of working students hate cleaning there. It’s hard work and the hours are terrible. Do you get it? The pay isn’t too bad, but the work is toilsome. Every year, numerous students apply to work somewhere else, or leave the academy for not passing the scholarship assessment. And the scholarship you have is D-Rank. Have you ever considered that you’ll be spending all of your pay on school fees?”

“Yes, it's just as you said.”

“Frankly, won’t it be hard to pass six years like that?”

“I’m confident in my physical strength.”

Karian’s smile changed. Karian was full of smiles in Layfon’s eyes, and something that felt like a favourable feeling towards Layfon came through.

“Aa, perhaps you’re right. You should have confidence in your physical strength. That’s exactly why I wish you would change to Military Arts.”

“What for?”

“Do you know of the Military Arts Competition between Academy cities?”

“……Nope.”

Karian spoke without any disappointment in Layfon’s lack of knowledge, “To put this simply, the Competition takes place once every two years.”

Layfon could guess what Karian was getting at.

“This is a habit of cities. I’ve no idea what the alchemists were thinking, but cities fight for territory every two years. What’s more interesting is that they only compete with the same type of cities……I could only say that the cities were made too well.”

Although the cities were fighting for territories, it was actually the people living in the cities who carried out the fights.

“Sure, it’s called the Military Arts Competition, but in reality, the competition is the same as……the wars that takes place between normal cities.”

War. Layfon’s expression turned grim.

“Of course, our goal is to conduct a student-like all-encompassing fight. The Alliance of Academy Cities supervises every fight. Non-lethal weapons are used. Swords are sheathed. Anesthetic bullets are used. But since it’s a war, there’s no much difference between what the winner obtains and what the loser loses. It’s not as tragic as a real war, but the ending is the same.”

“Is this the city’s……life?”

“Yes,” Karian nodded.

Cities have awareness. They’re alive. They need food to keep on surviving. Even though they are machines, they need energy to maintain their functions.

The source of a city’s life……is their food, a type of metal called selenium.

“Selenium is a metal born after the earth became polluted, and so it’s easy to obtain. To put it simply, you can probably find it by digging at the earth over there. But that’s a dangerous action with filth monsters around. Besides, we can only obtain pure selenium from mines with a certain level of energy.”

So, the winner took possession of the mine and the loser lost it. While increasing the prosperity of their own piece of land, people were reducing the lifespan of another piece of land.

“When I first entered the Academy, Zuellni had three mines. Now it’s down to one,” Karian sighed.

Meaning Zuellni had lost in the last two competitions and its Military Arts level was much lower than the neighbouring cities.

“It’s doubtful on how much pure selenium we can mine from that remaining mine. I plan to send some alchemists over to investigate the next time our city nears it.”

“In other words, if we lose the next time, there’s no backup plan?”

“Exactly. The cities determine the topic of the upcoming Competition. We can’t not participate.”

'If we lose……' Just the thought made Layfon shiver.

Even if a city loses all of its mines, its functions won’t stop because it has an emergency reserve of selenium.

But that could only delay the inevitable for a short time.

The city would die. Humans would have lost space to live. Once a city died, it was returned back to the earth. People couldn’t salvage it.

To have a city die of starvation was the same as its people dying of famine.

Thinking of that, a sudden shiver shook Layfon’s cold body. The city he had just arrived in would die. He didn’t have much of a link with this Academy, but the possibility of the city dying was terrifying.

When a person was young, if he found out that the city he lived in could die, he’d have been scared enough to tremble all over. That experience would be the same for everyone.

Hearing that the fear he felt in his childhood could become reality, Layfon felt he really was like his childhood self, trembling all over.

But, even so……

“I……”

To fight…… I can’t do that.

Yes, let’s say that.

With determination, he lifted his gaze, preparing to refuse the Student President watching him from the desk.

But, the words wouldn’t come.

The Student President watched Layfon.

The smile on Loss’ face had disappeared. The emotionless expression appeared to be too calm. This contrasted with the icy gaze of his pinning Layfon.

To the breathless Layfon, Karian spoke, “I’m graduating this year. As long as this remains an academy city, no one can stay here after graduating. This means once I graduate, I’m not linked to this place anymore. But I really like the academy. Don’t you think it’s sad to lose your favourite thing even though you can never set foot on this piece of earth?”

“It’s natural to want to protect what is precious. For one who goes mad with love. Don’t you feel that it’s their fate to reach that their goal with whatever means possible?”

A light smile appeared on the countenance of the Student President. Just that. It was his way of joking in a solemn situation.

“Your scholarship will be raised to Rank A. All your fees will be waived. You will only need to earn for your living. If you aren’t keen on fashion, you won’t need to spend much, so you don’t have to force yourself to clean at the Central Mechanism Chamber. Is that all right?”

Rationality told him not to nod.
But his instinct howled for him to nod.

And then, Layfon left the room with swaying steps, holding a Military Arts uniform that had somehow been placed into his hands.

<center>◇</center>

A few minutes after weakly closing his door, there came impatient knocking on his door.

“Come in.”

It was a girl in Military Arts uniform. A girl with short, golden hair. A girl with determination and resolution.

“Sorry for intruding.”

A pair of sharp eyes rested beneath neat and thick eyebrows. Those eyes watched the Student President with challenge. The sound of the harness clasped around her waist accompanied her every step. What was inside the harness was not a sword, but two rod-like things. The threads on the harness indicated she was a third year student.

The girl stood straight before the desk and her gaze met the Student President’s.

“I’m a third-year in Military Arts, Nina Antalk. I heard you’re looking for me?”

“Yes, I’m looking for you.”

Karian smiled.

“What is it about?”

“Have you found enough members?”

The sudden question caused Nina to furrow, but she checked her attitude and replied, “Not yet.”

“Yes, I thought so too. You haven’t yet sent me the report on your team members since the day you took the application form. The opening ceremony ended. If you don’t hurry up and produce your team member list, you won’t be able to participate in the next City competition. In that case, you’ll become the lowest-level soldier in the next round of platoon competitions.”

“Excuse me, Student President. Hasn’t the opening ceremony been delayed?”

“It’s been cancelled thanks to other schedules. It’s a shame. I won’t call everyone to the hall again. Because of this year’s Military Arts competition, there are lots of things to do.”

Nina’s face fell. She kept silent.

“I think it’s enough to observe the new students at the opening ceremony. What do you think?”

“No one is suitable. Everyone was affected too much by the atmosphere. You can’t tell what’d happen in a battle. I want someone who can observe calmly without getting caught in the confusion.”

Nina had been watching the entire commotion today. Every new Military Arts student was affected by the two who started the whole thing. Violent expressions on their faces said they wanted to join in and make the mess even bigger.

To get caught up by the enemies like that was the same as digging their own graves.

“Is there really no one suitable?”

Nina didn’t reply immediately. Her confused gaze moved up and down.

“No……”

In her hesitation floated up the image of the new student. The one who suppressed the two troublemakers without anyone knowing. He suppressed the center of the commotion to prevent the violent emotions from spreading, and at the same time, he exaggerated his act to threaten people who were caught up in the commotion. She found his response very certain.

But……

“He’s in General Studies.”

That new student wore the uniform of General Studies. This way, he couldn’t participate in the competition.

But the Student President smiled happily.

“Yes, that was true, until now.”

“……What does that mean?”

“He’s just transferred into Military Arts.”

A disapproving expression appeared on Nina’s face.

“I can’t waste such good material.”

“So you ignored his wish?”

“I didn’t ignore it. I showed him the highest level of sincerity. He should be quite satisfied with it.”

“Really?”

Nina understood how hard the Student President’s attitude could be. Last time during the Student President election, Karian wasn’t nominated, yet at the time when he gloriously became a candidate, he had waged a rare intelligence fight with his opponents, causing them to all lose out.

“It doesn’t matter what the truth is. What do you think now that he’s in Military Arts? That’s the only answer I want to know.”

“What is it to be? At this rate, you won’t have enough members. Do you plan to experience the same shame as before, but now as a low-ranked soldier?”

Nina cramped her teeth together.

“I have no such intention.”

“Then what should you do? I think the answer is clear.”

Karian slid a document on the desk to Nina. It was a resume with the name “Layfon Alseif” written on it. The document was clearly in the structure of a resume, along with a close-up photo of Layfon.

“Please excuse me.”

Having taken a glimpse of the document, Nina turned her back to Karian and left the room. He smiled at the back of the girl who didn’t give him a reply.

Alone once more, Karian took out a new document and laid it beside Layfon’s resume. It was also a resume, but with the name Nina Antalk on it.

“If things go well, this will become the strongest team. The problem is how to operate it……” he murmured. He didn’t look cheerful at all.

<center>◇</center>

On the way back to his classroom, Layfon changed into the new uniform in a health clinic he found. The Student President threatened him that if he continued to walk about not in uniform, he’d be considered as committing a fraud.

Holding the uniform of General Studies, he entered the classroom to collect his bag. From a uniform he hadn’t gotten used to yet to another unfamiliar uniform…… He wasn’t yet familiar with this uniform, but it gave him an intriguing feeling.

Also, the new uniform fit him perfectly.

“Damn, this must have been planned!”

Walking in the corridor, Layfon couldn’t help but curse out loud. His height and weight were standard for a male of his age, but his right arm was slightly longer than his left. His General Studies uniform had been fixed to cater for that difference, but how could the Military Arts uniform given to him on a spur of the moment decision be such a perfect fit?

Meaning – the truth can’t be changed.

“Why…… How did they find out?”

Anxiety filled him. He came here to major in General Studies, to seek a world that had nothing to do with Military Arts, but on the first day of his arrival, he had once again stepped into that world he wanted to leave behind.

“Ah Ah! Why didn’t I refuse him? I’m such a coward…… a coward!” Layfon shouted.

Only the opening ceremony was on today, so nobody was in the corridor. Without considering, he shouted again, “How should I have put it? That Student President’s too scary! What kind of gaze was that? It really terrifies me. How could I have resisted that type of person?”

Having let it all out, Layfon arrived at his classroom. Ah, meaning his classroom would be different now. But the Student President didn’t mention that at all? What should he do? Layfon opened the door.

The door opened and the scene inside the room entered Layfon’s sight.

“Ah!”

That sound came through.

There were still students in the classroom.

“Look, look. He really is in Military Arts. Yeah~~ It’s my win. I’m lucky --!”

One of the girls jumped up in excitement. Chestnut coloured hair, tied into two tails on each side of her head shook with her movement.

Only three girls were in the room.

Their curious gazes were glued closely to Layfon without reserve. Layfon halted his steps.

“Why! Wasn’t he wearing a General Studies uniform? That was deceptive,” said a red-haired girl. She wore the same uniform as Layfon’s. And like Layfon, the empty harness swayed around her waist.

“You don’t have a General Studies uniform. Hey, just what is that about?” she questioned him as if she was bringing him to account.

“Uh, something happened……”

“So? Do you mean I don’t get that uniform coz I’m not cute? Is that it?”

Even if you ask me that, I can’t do anything about it. As for the girl, she was more handsome than cute. Compared to the General Studies uniform designed for cuteness, Layfon thought the sharp edges of the Military Arts uniform suited her better.

But the girl was dissatisfied.

“Wait a moment, Gelni, calm down. You’re causing trouble for Mi-chan,” the girl with two tails concluded. The red-haired girl paused as if she had thought of something, then she moved aside for the other girl.

“That’s right. Hurry up, Meishen.”

With one hand on the back of the third girl, the red-haired girl moved her to stand in front of Layfon.

[[image:CSR vol01 043.jpg|thumb]]
The third girl had long hair streaming past her shoulders. She looked shy and gentle. Her face facing the ground, she seemed afraid. Her eyebrows curved as if she was about to cry. Her face was faintly red.

“Uh, thank…… thank you very much.” Just saying that seemed to take all of her energy. The black-haired girl hid behind the red-haired girl, her face reddened.

“Sorry, she’s always been this shy. Even so, she still wants to thank you for saving her at the opening ceremony, right?” said the girl with two tails.

The black-haired girl buried her face into the back of the red-haired girl.

Layfon had no recollection of that ever happening. He only recalled pushing away those people about to get caught in the fight. He might have saved her during that time.

The red-haired girl sighed. “This child…… yes, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Naruki Gelni in the Military Arts.”

“I’m Mifi Rotten. The one playing hide-and-seek is Meishen Trinden. We’re both in General Studies. Us three came from the Transit City Joeldem. Do you know of it?”

“Yes, it’s the center where roaming buses gather. I passed through on the way here. I’m Layfon Alseif, from the Lance Shelled City, Grendan.”

“Oh, that was where Military Arts was born. No wonder you’re so strong.”

“No, that’s not it……” Layfon replied vaguely. Just when he thought of how to explain it……

“Ah, don’t just stand there and talk! I’m hungry. Let’s find something good to eat.”

“Again? Do you have to make a map of this area too?”

“Of course! Maps for food, fashion, territory…… so long as it can be drawn, I’ll do it. Since I’ll be here for six years, I don’t want to lose out by not having a map. Ah! It’s my hobby to gather intelligence. If you want to know something, just ask me. Even if I don’t know, I’ll investigate it and find out.”

“Yeah, I’m hungry…… besides, I’ve something to ask you, like the thing you’re holding.”

With a pair of sharp eyes, Naruki looked at the General Studies uniform that Layfon was holding.

He didn’t even get a chance to speak. They decided it for him then.

“Uh, well…… look. This is troubling for Meishen. And you said she’s shy.”

“…… I’m ok with it,” Meishen said from behind Naruki’s back.

“Ok. That’s decided.”

And that was decided.

<center>◇</center>

The location was then changed to a coffee shop close by. The coffee shop was made of red bricks and designed not to stand out too much. Since it was already past lunch time, the shop was nearly empty. The four of them somehow managed to catch up to lunch time special. While eating, Layfon explained why he was transferred to the Military Arts – he didn’t mention that he was forced to transfer.

They were eating dessert.

Only Layfon wasn’t eating, instead drinking juice.

“Oh, I was worried that Academy City only had healthy food for students. It’s great that my worry was unfounded,” Mifi said with satisfaction, her mouth filled with cake.

“This really is worth drawing a map for.”

“And I was wondering what a city operated by students was like. Who’d have thought it would be quite organized,” Naruki said with admiration.

In reality, many shops lined the roads heading from the dormitories to the school, but because it was an Academy City, most of the shops were closed during class hours. Once classes finished, the shops were full of people. These shops were managed by senior General Studies students who studied Commerce or Management. Other students came here to work as employees.

The food was made by seniors in Gastronomy.

“There’s a Police Department and a Court here too. I’ll try applying to the Police.”

“Gelni’s dream is to be a policewoman.”

“Yes.”

“As for me, the newspaper. Since it’s related to publishing, I’ll try to find somewhere that publishes news. What about Mei-chan?”

“……. Somewhere that makes dessert.”

“Then you’ll have to find somewhere with delicious food. Uh, eating while you walk…… watch out so you don’t get fat.”

“You're pretty red right now, aren't you?”

“Um, what do you mean? Gelni’s all sweaty from exercising. You smell~~”

“He, that’s the smell of youth.”

“Wa, I don’t get you.”

The conversation expanded, and Layfon watched it all with a distant feeling. Those three were from the same city. From their conversation, it seemed they already knew each other before coming here. Shut outside the intimate conversation, Layfon sipped his juice.

Mifi suddenly directed a question at him. “That’s right. Where’ll you be working, Layton?”

“…… Layton?”

Startled at the unexpected name change, Layfon opened his lips with juice still inside his mouth. He almost spilled it all.

“Yeah, Layton. That’s easier to say, isn’t it?” Mifi said cheerfully.

“Gelni, Mei-chan, Layton, and I’m Mi-chan. Is that ok?”

“You didn’t give the names a good thought. Coming back to this, my nickname’s the same.”

“It’s boring to think up a nickname for myself. Besides, if I say “Just call me Mimi~”, doesn’t that sound revolting?”

“Revolting. At least I wouldn’t want to be friend with that person.”

“Exactly. Then that’s ok. So Layton is called Layton now!”

“That can’t be helped. Then we’re counting on you from now on, Layton.”

“Yeah, Layton, Layton~”

“…… Layton.”

Even Meishen was calling him by that name. For some reason, Layfon felt like he had come from a really far away place. Where was this place? Just in which dimension was he lost in?

Till now, none of his female friends had ever called him like that. Even his closest friend Leerin would only call him by his first name. For his nickname, she just called him “Lay.”

Layton…… Layfon was dumbfounded.

“So, where will you be working at, Layton?”

He could only answer the question, though he knew it wasn’t possible to resolve the name issue.

At this moment, no words came to him.

Speaking of which, somebody just said Layfon’s scholarship had been upgraded, so it didn’t matter if he didn’t go and work.

“Don’t tell me it’s all right if you don’t work?”

“No, I’ve still got to work,” Layfon shook his head. “I’ll be working in the mechanical department.”

All three girls burst out with “wa” and frowned.

“Why such a hard working job?”

“I heard you need lots of strength for Military Arts. This kind of lifestyle will damage your body. Are you sure about this?”

“…… Won’t that be very tiring?”

All three girls expressed their worries. Layfon could only smile bitterly.

Even he knew it’d be hard work. But it was dangerous to rely fully on the Student President. If something happened and he had to oppose the Student President, his scholarship might be cancelled. It’d be the worst case scenario to be left without money, unable to continue his studies.

“Yeah, but that can’t be helped. I’m an orphan. I don’t have anything else besides the scholarship.”

He thought the way he put it was natural and inconspicuous.

But the word “orphan” caused the three girls to widen their eyes. Embarrassed, their uneasy gazes then darted around.

“Ah~~ I see. Sorry. Do your best.”

“Yeah, if it’s anything I can do, I’ll help out.”

“…… Me too.”

“It’s ok. Don’t think about it……”

Their attitude made him feel troubled.

“I don’t find that particularly hard. I feel troubled when I'm pitied.”

Even so, Mifi and Meishen exchanged a glance, their faces full of anxiety. From his previous experiences, Layfon knew it wasn’t possible to make them understand it right away, so he wasn’t bothered by their reaction.

“Ok, I get it. I won’t worry about it,” Naruki nodded immediately. Her quick response was a surprise to him.

“Uh? What? Did you say you wouldn't think too much about it?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

It was clear that Naruki wasn’t just talking about it. She meant it. Layfon nodded hesitantly, then he couldn’t hold it back anymore and laughed.

“What?”

“Nothing. It’s just that you act like a big sister.”

“What did you say?”

Naruki frowned, but Mifi agreed.

“Ah, I understand. I understand. Gelni’s got that feel about her. She’s cool.”

“…… And she’s popular with lots of girls.”

“Yep, she always receives lots of presents and love letters.”

“Well, I’m troubled by that. I’ve never known what to do with them.”

Although she said so seriously, Layfon laughed again.

(The atmosphere feels good.) Layfon thought as he laughed. Although what he experienced at the opening ceremony was a setback for him, from his conversation with the girls, it felt as if he was now back on track.

“Uh…… excuse me.”

A voice broke through the laughter.

As their eyes found the owner of the voice, everyone couldn’t help but held their breath.

[[image:CSR vol01 053.jpg|thumb]]
Standing beside the table was a girl. The silvery hair hanging down to her waist shone as if to reflect the light of the coffee shop. She had snowy white skin and a heart shape-like lower jaw. A peek just inside her collar was a delicately small neck and a kind of a dangerous charm. Long eyebrows trembled above slightly lowered gaze of those silver eyes.

A girl who was as beautiful and delicate as a doll.

No one noticed she was wearing the uniform of Military Arts.

The first to finally notice was Naruki.

“Aren’t you a grade older than us? Do you want something?” Naruki said.

Layfon realized the colour of the threads on her harness was different from his own. From the harness hung a long thin rod like thing.

“Are you Layfon Alseif?”

Silvery eyes caught Layfon’s image.

“Yes.”

“I’ve something to tell you. Could you come with me?”

“….. Okay.”

Layfon stood up naturally, compelled by that voice to obey.

The girl turned her back to leave the coffee shop. Layfon would have followed behind just like that, but he returned to the seat. He took his bag and from his wallet, left some change on the table for his juice.

“Sorry, I gotta go.”

“Sure. Then go,” Naruki said on behalf of her two still silent companions.

“Yeah. But, just what……”

Wordlessly, Layfon rushed after the silvery girl.

The bell tied to the coffee shop door swung out crisp notes as Layfon passed. Thinking back on how confused Layfon appeared to be, Naruki smiled bitterly.

“Wh…… What just happened?” Mifi muttered.

“Of course he’s been targeted after that elegant performance at the opening ceremony.”

Mifi didn’t understand what Naruki’s just said. She looked at her friend with questions on her face.

“Isn’t there a different badge on that senpai’s chest pocket?”

“Yeah, really?” Mifi frowned.

“…… It’s a silvery round thing?”

“Yes.”

Meishen did see it.

“…… There’s the number 17 on it.”

“A badge that only people belonging to a platoon would have.”

“A platoon…… what is that?”

“To put it simply, they’re the candidates to the officials in the Military Arts course. It carries the additional meaning of a fighter with high level of skill.”

“Um…… yes?”

Naruki explained. “They’re the core teams in the Military Arts competition. Underneath the General headquarter are the platoons….. They’re called commanding teams. Beneath them are the larger teams, and those take charge of people who don’t belong to any teams, meaning, normal Military Arts students like me……”

“Wow, if that’s the case, then it’s like climbing all the way up to the top,” Mifi said, clapping her hands.

“But it’s not that easy in there.”

“Why?”

“Didn’t I mention it? That badge holds the meaning of a high level fighter. Students belonging to a platoon must excel in certain area, from commanding ability to the control of psychokinesis. Mostly, they specialize in certain weapon. Besides the individual skills that are judged, the strength of how well an entire team does is also assessed. Whether a person can work in a team is also evaluated. As such, there’s competition going on between teams for the ranking list. In other words, it’s a fight in between students at the academy. During those fights, if a team doesn’t perform well, the worst situation is it’d be disbanded. Official candidates turning back to normal students. Fighters normally have strong self-esteem. If one returns to being a normal student, other people would say he’s fallen from the clouds to the bottom of a valley…… no one can take that kind of a setback. His life in the Academy would become too painful to bear.”

Naruki glanced at the door that Layfon had just left through. No new customers had entered. The bell remained solemn.

“…… Layton said he’s going to clean in the mechanical department,” Meishen said.

“Ah, that will be tiring for him!” Mifi said. “Will he be all right?”

“Yeah, it should be quite smooth for him.” Naruki could only give such an answer. She washed down the last piece of cake with red tea.

<center>◇</center>

What Naruki said to the other two at the coffee shop also came to Layfon’s ears, but from the terrifying girl with golden hair.

The beautiful, silver-haired girl took Layfon deep inside the first year dormitories, to was a certain building with an old and worn out feel about it.

Layfon was taken to one of the rooms and was greeted by a terrifying girl with golden hair.

“I’m Nina Antalk, the captain of the seventeenth platoon,” the girl said firmly.

The room Layfon was in had been split into two by a huge wall, so the space was only twice as large as a normal classroom. On the wall were hung many different types of weapons.

Including Layfon, there were five people in the room.

The first person was the girl Nina Antalk, standing right before Layfon. Next was the girl who took Layfon here. The beautiful silver-haired girl had moved immediately to a corner after having entered the room.

The rest were two male students. The taller boy lay lazily in a corner. The other wore a dark green working suit that was stained with engine oil and some other type of machine related liquid.

Nina gave the confused Layfon an explanation about the platoon.

Layfon half listened, with his mind somewhere else.

“Do you understand?”

“Ah, yes.”

Turning his gaze back to Nina, Layfon gave her a quick answer without really meaning anything he had just said.

“Then why was I called here?”

Layfon understood everyone here was an official candidate.

But, that was all he knew.

Nina didn’t explain why Layfon was here.

Half of Nina’s eyebrow trembled as if it had the cramps.

“I understand from your explanation that everyone here is an elite. But, if that’s the case…… because of that, I don’t get why I, as a first year student, was called here,” Layfon said, trying to mediate the atmosphere. Nina closed her open mouth, her shoulders moved as if she was breathing deeply, then she opened her mouth again to speak.

But before that—

“Hehahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!”

The tall male student burst out laughing from his position.

“Sharnid-senpai!” Nina said loudly, her shoulders trembling in anger.

“Gahaha! Hahohoho…… AhAh, my stomach hurts! Nina, it’s your fault. All because you beat around the bush and gave the new student there an opportunity to pretend he was a fool.”

“Um!”

Nina clamped hard on her teeth.

“Heh!” Sharnid jumped up, watching Layfon in a flippant manner.

“I’m Sharnid Elipton, a fourth year. I’m a sniper.”

“Ah, nice to meet you.”

“Well, let me explain clearly in place of our captain. Layfon Alseif, we asked you to come because we need the right number.”

“Huh?”

“Hey, hey, hey. Stop pretending. Everybody saw your performance at the opening ceremony. The excuse of you being a new student and not having enough skill won’t work. You’ve already proven your skill. We thought you were good, so we want you in our team.”

Sharnid gave Nina a meaningful glance.

Nina cleared her throat and stood before Layfon again.

“Layfon Alseif. I order you to become a member of team seventeen. No refusal will be accepted. The Student President has already given permission and formally proposed for your application. Either way, for those who are in the Military Arts, they’re not allowed such feeble action as refusing to enter a platoon.”

What a resolute speech. Nina’s unyielding attitude meant Layfon had no way to run.

“We’ll now conduct a test to see which position you’re best suited for in the platoon.”

Nina took out the two singlesticks from her weapon harness. She pointed at Layfon with the singlestick held tightly in her right hand.

“Choose whatever weapon you like!”

Perturbed by the seriousness in Nina’s eyes, Layfon turned to examine the weapons on the wall.

The price of free school fees….. what an A grade scholarship.

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