Editing Hyouketsu Kyoukai no Eden:Volume 4 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 1===

“''……I see, a man like you might also be necessary for the tower.''“

Instructor Yumelda in regular clothes whom he’d come across by coincidence at a corner of the Living Districts. That was the beginning of his entrance into {{furigana|Tenketsu Palace|Sophia}} and him becoming a Cadet Guard.

Early in the morning, Vaiel walked far away from the training grounds.

“Ah──, damn it, why did it become like this.”

It was Kagura, if he recalled correctly. The perpetrator responsible for disturbing people’s afternoon naps and even using coercion that was half a threat to rope him into a unit.

“What is with ‘It’s a unit battle so please protect me’? ……You can’t rely on somebody like me. Thinking somebody will help you when you’re in trouble is just you seeing a pipe dream.” <ref>[T/N: As with the last time, "大将" (general) and "わたし" (me) are interchangeable here as the former is the kanji with the latter being the furigana (reading) provided.]</ref>

Sticking his hands in his pockets and curling his back, he loosed criticisms as they came to mind. He knew there was no point in letting them out. Half of it was just something he liked saying.

“……Pointless, so pointless.”

Clicking his tongue slightly, Vaiel hurried to his afternoon nap spot.

───Guess I’ll go back to sleep until the unit battle.

The bench on the outskirts of the training grounds was for that purpose. It was part of the training grounds but was so far back that the instructors didn’t patrol there. Thanks to that, it was his favorite comfortable spot.

Continuing down the small path in the lawn, he finally saw the large tree that marked the location.

It was as unpopular and deserted a space as ever. The bench underneath the tree as well, although finally in use, only had one person sitting on it……

“Ahh? What’s this?”

Seeing something uncommon, he stopped without thinking and rubbed his eyes.

The bench that was usually deserted. Somebody’s head was bobbing in and out of view behind it.

The small head’s black hair was tied into two in the back. The head was just barely visible, so judging from the sitting height, it was likely not an adult.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, spare me the jokes……a kid?”

He sighed while staring up at the sky. The girl called Kagura or something had also been there a few days ago, but it seemed like he was fated to have kids attached to him.

“Sheesh, just who is this. This kid that’s occupying my designated seat so early in the morning.”

These were the training grounds so it was probably a Guard. There was no way a Regular Guard or Instructor would be resting in such a deserted place so it was most likely a young Cadet Guard who had run away from training.

“Sheesh, that’s my spot.”

Scratching the back of his head with his right hand, he walked up with his left hand still stuck in his pocket.

Ten metres to the bench……five metres……three metres, and then.

“Hey, you. Person I don’t know.”

Coming around to the front, he looked at the one occupying the seat.

“This has been my seat for a hundred million years. If you don’t want your front teeth shattered, move now. Got it? If you do, then get………………”

Moving right now. Vaiel wasn’t able to say those last few words that came to mind.

The one sitting on the bench wasn’t a guard,

“? Yuto doesn’t really know what you mean?”

Tilting her head, the young girl looked at him with her clear black eyes.

Her jet black hair was fastened into two locks behind her head. She was wearing a lovely white one-piece dress. A sky blue muffler was wrapped around her neck in a flowing fashion. No matter how you looked at her, she was a civilian.

“…………This is my unlucky day.”

“Unlucky day?” <ref>[T/N: Vaiel says "厄日" with the kanji, while Yuto says "やくび" (yakubi), showing she has no idea what he's talking about.]</ref>

The young girl looked up at him with adorable movements.

Ignoring that, Vaiel put a hand on the bench’s backboard while pressing a hand to his head.

……I’m getting a headache. That Kagura or whatever girl was also like this, but why have I been running into these kinds of brats over the last few days.”

“Or rather, what the heck are you doing here?”

“Is it not okay for Yuto to be here?”

“That’s not the point. This is a training ground, so some civilian brat like you shouldn’t be able to get in.”

“? But Yuto is here?”

“…………Damn it all. Okay then, I’ll change the question so even a brat can understand.”

Spurred by how annoying it was and sleepiness, with an expression that was practically glaring, Vaiel moved his face closer. It was a face that would scare kids and make them cry. ……Or it should have.

“Ahaha, onii-chan, your face is scary.”

“Hah? I’m sleepy so it can’t be helped!”

“Yuto’s full of energy, you know──? I slept enough!”

Somehow he had made her happy.

“……Damn it, whatever. How did you get in here?”

Saying that, the girl called Yuto looked up at the sky in thought.

“Yuto’s searching for Eyri-nee.”

“Eyri-nee? Who’s that?”

“Eyri-nee is Eyri-nee? Yuto is always with Eyri-nee.”

“……I see, so that person’s your guardian.”

He’d come to understand the basic situation.

There were a lot of civilians that came to sightsee at {{furigana|Tenketsu Palace|Sophia}}. ……But there were those few. Kids who ran off the instant their parents took their eyes off them for a moment and became lost. This young girl was probably one of them.

“Sheesh, if you’re going to act as a guardian, then take proper care of your nuisances.”

He sighed as he looked at the young girl called Yuto occupying the center of the bench.

“……You won’t listen even if I say to move, huh.”

“? Okay. Let’s do a half-and-half!”

With a smile, she happily moved to one end of the bench while swinging her legs noisily.

“Hoh. You actually do get it. That’s well-done for a brat.”

Sitting down on the empty spot, he leaned back on the bench.

……It was annoying that he couldn’t sleep lying down though.

He couldn’t ask for that luxury in this case. At any rate, the first one to occupy the bench had been the young girl and that young girl had explicitly freed up half for him.

Crossing his arms and legs, he closed his eyes───

……I can……not sleep like this.

Normally, he’d drop right into a dream immediately but it wouldn’t go so easily this time.

There was no need to say that the cause was the young girl beside him. While swinging her legs noisily, she kept stealing glances at him. It couldn’t be helped that he was conscious of that gaze from a while ago.

“Hey.”

“What is it?”

“You, how long have you been doing that?”

“Mm. I don’t know. But since yesterday……I wonder where Eyri-nee went.”

The young girl’s shoulders drooped with sadness. She looked like she would smile not too long ago and now she looked like she was about to cry. It would’ve been best not to ask. Even with that thought, it was already in the past.

“Hey, since yesterday means……you’ve been here the entire night?”

“……Yuto doesn’t know how to go back home when it gets dark.”

There were few people who passed by here and no lighting that actually seemed like lighting. So she had been crouching here at this bench the entire night ────── was that it?

“Hey, hey, do you know Eyri-nee?” <ref>[T/N: That's "ねえねえ" (neenee). I can't think of any cute ways for a kid to get attention in English.]</ref>

She tugged on the left sleeve of his formal attire.

“Haa? There’s no way I’d know her.”

“…………Sorry.”

The young girl cast her head down in loneliness and sadness. Being looked at with sidelong expectant glances, Vaiel turned away without thinking.

…………

……Damn it. Why are the Guards always like this.

'''Those Guards that shoulder the great duty of protecting the Priestesses from the Yuugenshu can’t even realize that there’s a troubled young girl this close to them.'''

……It’s always like that. The Guards around him were only creating strong units for the sake of promotion.

Nobody realized that this young girl was at a loss. Those who swore to protect the Priestesses were always staring up at the tower, forgetting to extend a hand to the people right before them.

“……That’s wrong, all wrong.”

Rather than becoming a hero as a Guard, a regular person was still a ‘person’.

Was that not the backbone of being a Guard?

“Nobody understands.”

He bit back the bitterness within his mouth.

“Hey, do you know Eyri-nee?”

“Ahhhhhhh, you’re noisy! Don’t look at me with those eyes!”

The sudden loud voice surprised Yuto and her shoulders drew back. Taking a glance at the young girl, Vaiel sighed deeply and stood up.

“Come on, you stand up too.”

“Fue?”

“I’ll take you to the first floor’s lobby. They’ll understand if you make a tower-wide announcement.”

“I’ll find Eyri-nee?”

A complete turnabout from the sullen expression just before, the young girl’s eyes were sparkling.

“At any rate, let’s go.”

“Yeah!”

Nodding, she held out her right hand with a smile.

…………Hey.

…………Don’t tell me, she wants to hold my hand?

“Damn it, nobody’s looking, right.”

Just in case, he looked around and finally grabbed that hand ────── the second he did grab it, the young girl’s body lifted gently into the air.

“Waa, wawawaa!”

The young girl clung to his leg. It seemed that their heights were too different so holding hands would mean Yuto couldn’t reach the ground.

“Ah──, guess this is the consolation prize.”

This was convenient for him. But it seemed like she didn’t share the same opinion. She folded her arms in thought and then her face lit up.

“Piggyback!”

“Hah?”

“Piggyback! Yuto wants a piggyback!”

“……Hey, hey, hey, don’t get all worked up, brat. What kind of joke are you trying to pull on this Vaiel-sama.”

“Vaa-nii? Vaa-nii?”

“Don’t just shorten people’s names like that; listen up, in the world, naive thinking like yours───”

“……I can’t get a piggyback?…………okay. Yuto will walk.”

The young girl trudged on ahead.

That back let off a feeling of loneliness even without words.
[[image:Eden04_155.jpg|thumb]]

“………………Damn it, hey, wait a second!”

Grabbing her under both arms, he lifted her above his head like that in one motion.

“Waa, wawawa!”

Yuto flapped her arms as if trying to swim in the air. Ignoring her struggling in surprise, Vaiel placed her on his shoulders, completing the piggyback.

“There, now you have no complaints.”

“Waa! Thanks, Vaa-nii!”

“……I told you not to shorten people’s names so relaxedly.”

“Vaa-nii! Vaa-nii! Amazing──, it’s higher than Shel-nii!”

“…………Whatever already. Do as you like.”

Sighing for the umpteenth time in response to the high-spirited young girl on his shoulders, Vaiel walked towards the tower.