Editing Masou Gakuen HxH:Volume 5 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 1===

Aine who finished the parade and entered the castle was made to take a bath and changed her clothes, after cosmetics were applied to her, she headed to the audience room. Her clothes was a white dress with the back largely opened. Pink was used in between, making it look lovely.

“Grace-sama wants to meet with Ainess-sama as quickly as possible so……in respect to Ainess-sama, my apologies that you don’t even have the time to calm yourself down.”

Zelsione lowered her head looking really apologetic.

“No, I don’t mind.”

After Aine answered so, she stared ahead of the long corridor. Honestly, she didn’t remember that path inside the castle. Perhaps even as a child she didn’t know about the room arrangements of the castle.

Even now she was escorted by Zelsione and Quartum while going forward to the audience room.

The door at the end of the corridor was opened. Together with nervousness that made her stomach hurt, Aine entered the audience room.

The wideness of the audience room was fitting for the huge castle. A floor size that was a hundred meters to the four directions and the height of the ceiling where a magic weapon could be entered with space still left over. Engravings of females that were like angels were carved on the wall, geometrical patterns were added in the fringe of the ceiling, pictures of the sky and angels were drawn.

When she compared it with her faint memory, she gradually remembered about this room. If she remembered correctly, meeting with visitors was done a lot in this place. Even now was similar with that period of time, the people who shouldered the core of Vatlantis Empire, and then the lords of the surrounding countries were gathering here.

At the center of the vast hall where several hundred people could dance at the same time, a red carpet was extending as if to cleave the room into two. Ahead it became a long stair, and on top of it there was a huge throne. The frame that was created from gold and jewel was unbelievably luxurious, the back of the throne which could even reach several meters was growing wings. The wings which were created from pure gold looked like it granted wings to the person sitting there.

――However, a chair like that was not of any significance.

The master of that throne.

If that throne was compared to the figure of the girl sitting on that throne right now

The size of the throne didn’t match the petite, slender, and delicate female.

But, her presence surpassed the throne, ruling over everything in the vast audience room.

What attracted the eyes most of all was the color of her hair. That color was sweet, its radiance was high class, as if boasting the beauty of pink sapphire. And then the well-ordered face that was beautiful like a bisque doll made one think that if a beauty was given human shape, perhaps this would be how it turned out. In the perfectly symmetrical face which was like a mirror reflection, red eyes similar with Aine were shining. It was like the eyes themselves were emitting light, the deep color and radiance looked like ruby.

In contrast with that, the clothes she wore felt a little uneasy to be called as the outfit of an emperor, rather it seemed that the exposure rate was just too high. Her body was only wrapped in accessories and transparent cloth to an apologetic degree, the clothes looked completely like a dancer costume.

But, mysteriously it suited her.

The accessories put on her body were all made from gold and silver dotted with jewelry, fitting tightly on her body line. Everything was order made for this girl’s sake, masterpieces made by skilled artisans.

Looking at it like that, it made one feel as if these clothes had been thoroughly pondered and produced for the sake of displaying the beauty of the emperor’s body to the utmost.

Her body was also perfect, not inferior to the ornaments decorating her body. In her body that seemed to be soft just from looking, thin and slender, was hidden trained muscle. Even with that, there was no rugged line, but there were only smooth and exquisite curves depicting the whole body. Her breasts were not too big and not too small, boasting splendid shape that didn’t lose to gravity.

The girl’s sublime beauty even looked like her whole body was shining with faint light. No, it didn’t just look like that, her body was actually shining.

Aine soon noticed the true identity of that radiance.

‘――That’s, magic power light.’

The girl was constantly emitting magic power. It was a display of will that no matter what kind of time it was, she could respond with sorcery when something happened. It also displayed the abnormal amount of magic power she stored. That radiance enhanced the strength, the beauty, and the nobility of the girl’s figure even higher.

‘――You became beautiful……Grace.’

The figure inside Aine’s memory was her little sister as a child. Grace that was two years younger than her was five years old at that time. Her memory was far separated with the figure of the female before her eyes. Despite so, Aine mysteriously didn’t feel any discomfort. The beautiful figure she couldn’t imagine to exist in life, sitting on the throne with extravagant presence, overlapped with the Grace inside her memory. There was no doubt in there, rather there was a strange feeling of understanding.

Grace was looking down on Aine from the throne put on far above.

The ruby eyes were staring hard at Aine. The sparkling eyes looked like it was a burning color, yet there was coldness somewhere in it.

And then the pink soft glossy lips opened.

“……After suddenly disappearing, why did you return back after this long?”

The cool voice resounded in the audience room, as if a ripple was spreading in a clear lake. And then, a wave of nervousness was spreading in all who were present at that place. The authority figures were watching over the development while getting cold sweat.

“Gr……Grace?”

Aine faltered against Grace’s hard voice and attitude.

Grace stood up from the throne.

Agitation struck suddenly like a wave.

“Answer my question.”

Grace descended down the stairs.

That pressure made Aine spontaneously gulp, she reflexively lowered her head deeply.

“That, I lost my memory……then”

“And then, you joined Lemuria’s army, and inflicted many losses to our Vatlantis army?”

“Tha-……that’s”

Aine reflexively raised her face. However, she soon hung her head down again. Her body was trembling involuntarily. The figure of Grace that she caught in a glance felt like a terrifying monster. There was no trace of the girl who in her childhood was cutely attached to her emotionally.

[[Image:Masou Gakuen HxH V05 BW 02.jpg|thumb]]

“Just what kind of face are you making after returning back like this. Show me.”

Getting off the stairs, Grace now stood in front of Aine.

“I’m sorry……I――”

“Do you think, that you can be forgiven!”

‘hii-‘, Aine’s body bent backwards while raising a short scream.

Grace’s both arms caught the body of Aine who was going to collapse behind. And then, her body that was shorter than Aine gently embraced Aine tightly as if to envelop her.

“Eh……Gr, Grace?”

“There is no way I can forgive you! Just how much, I…..just how much I worried, just how sad do you think I was! Nee-sama!”

Grace buried her face on Aine’s shoulder, her voice was trembling.

“I absolutely won’t forgive you. I won’t let Nee-sama go for a second time. I will put Nee-sama inside my treasure box and lock you up at the depths of the royal palace. There is no way I’ll let Nee-sama get out for a second time. Nee-sama won’t go anywhere as you please anymore.”

“E, err……”

Grace’s voice was hitched, her beautiful face that was like a doll was wet with tears.

“I’m glad……really glad. For this kind of miracle to happen……my praise to Genesis.”

“Gra, Grace……no, your majesty……”

“Stupid, what are you saying Nee-sama. I want you to call me Grace. Just like in the past.”

Grace lifted her face and wiped her tears with her finger. Even so her red eyes were still moist, even now new drops of tears were going to spill out. With still teary eyes, she turned towards the authority figures lining up in the audience room. And then she raised her voice.

“Listen well everyone! O the people who see with their own eyes the return of my sister, Ainess Synclavia! Talk for generations of the miracle that occurred in this day. Lords of the surrounding countries, return back to your country and spread about this matter throughout the country. The miracle that the current emperor of Vatlantis made happen!”

Voices of admiration and applause welled up. However, they only came from half the number of the people gathering here. The remaining half was raising a stir, not cheering.

Parting through that stir, a lone noble stepped forward.

“Please wait, Grace-sama!”

“Mu? Vyuren huh. What is it?”

The noble called Vyuren was already in her forties, but she was still maintaining her youth and beauty. She came out of the lines of the lords with a solemn attitude, stepped forward in front of Grace, and bowed reverently.

“Please let me express my words, the current empire is maintaining the order with Grace-sama as the emperor. I respectfully beg you Grace-sama, please refrain from such really rash remarks.”

Ainess and Grace were close in age, because of that there was once a political conflict of which one to support as the next emperor. Vyuren was someone from the Grace faction at that time. In actuality, Ainess had disappeared for ten years. Right now the Ainess faction had all its members driven away into dead-end posts, or exiled into provincial cities.

The political struggle had been decided conclusively.

Only until now, in this day.

For Vyuren who had come to enjoy the height of her prosperity, this return of Ainess was a bolt from the blue. Surely she didn’t want to lose the interest that she had obtained at great pains. Even the other nobles of the Grace faction were glaring at Aine with bright red faces.

“I didn’t say anything rash or the like. The enthroned Nee-sama is the current emperor, it is an obvious fact no matter how one looks at it. I am only filling in during that Nee-sama’s absence. It doesn’t matter what kind of impression all of you are under.”

The nobles of the Grace faction clenched their fist and flowed cold sweat. In contrast, a noble of the Ainess faction was covering her mouth with a feather fan and showed a composed smile.

“How unsightly. Grace-sama has already spoken so. How about giving up quietly?”

Vyuren yelled with foam coming out of her mouth.

“Don’t fool around! You are just a trash insect that can only look small in the corner of the room until now! To let Ainess-sama who had been absent for ten years to stay in a place like Lemuria to serve as the emperor, such thing is not supposed to happen!”

That yelling left echoes inside the audience room before vanishing completely.

The audience room was silent as a grave, the air froze.

Grace’s red eyes were lit with flames of rage.

“You, just now, what did you say?”

“Eh? Gra, Grace-sama?”

“To put shame to Nee-sama, the Vatlantis emperor……”

The light that coiled around Grace’s body was increasing in strength, as if to display her burning rage.

“Hi-, ple, please wait. I didn’t mean that in the least! Grace-sama!”

Vyuren was drawing back while repeating justifications with a shrill voice.

Grace whispered lowly.

 

“Koros” <ref>In Japanese, it’s read as ‘korosu’, which means kill</ref>

 

The next instant, Grace’s body was enveloped in dazzling light. Pink light was crystallizing, creating a shining armor. Shining armor was put on her fingertips until above her elbow in silver and golden radiance, they were put on her with a slide. And then her legs, breasts, and head were being equipped with armor one after another. Those armors thinned down and clung to the body, there was no boorishness in the least from them. It was an elegant magic armor that resembled refined music.

And then, like a tree that reached out its branches, silver wings were growing on her back. It was folded up once, and then as if to shake off the light enveloping the wings, it flapped greatly.

The wings granted on the beautiful Grace. Originally, it was supposed to be the appearance of a divine angel.

――However, that figure was far away from an angel.

The wings that appeared from under the light were wings that were only bones.

A devil’s wings on the figure of an angel.

An ominous and disastrous existence.

――This was Grace’s magic armor [Koros].

The magic armor that possessed the alias of the angel of slaughter.

“That reckless remark towards Nee-sama, deserves certain death.”

Grace’s red eyes and pink colored hair emitted killing intent.

“Please forgive me! I’m only thinking about your majesty’s――”

Vyuren ran away flurried. She brushed aside the other nobles lining up in the audience room and headed to the exit.

“For my sake, you say? You are just intending to use me as a tool for the nobles’ benefits.”

Koros spread its wings. Feathers of light were produced from the bone wings and danced in the air.

“HIIIIIIII-!”

Vyuren got out of the audience room while tumbling about.

The cluster of feathers dancing in the air stopped still in empty air. The next moment, the feathers flew out like fired arrows. The arrows of light sewed were weaving through the crowd then changed their direction to fly out from the audience room towards the corridor.

“He-, help――”

Vyuren leaped out of the castle’s exit, she then stepped out her feet to the stair that went towards the castle gate, and at that time

The light arrows pierced that body.

“Guha……a-!?”

Vyuren’s movement stopped while her hand pressed on her chest. She stood stock still while staring at space for a while, before her body shook violently. The body that lost its strength fell down from its face and rolled down the stair like that. The palace guard that rushed to the body and shook it wondering what happened found that the body wouldn’t stand up anymore.

The arrows of light that pierced Vyuren were dyed orange. That was the color of magic power that Vyuren had. Leaving behind orange tracks, the arrows of light once more returned to the audience room with a terrific speed. And then they settled on Koros’s wings as if returning to their nest, the magic power that was taken out from Vyuren was absorbed into the bone wings. The light particles were sent from the wings to Grace’s body, and then to her hair, causing its pink color to shine even more vivid and even more beautiful.

“Taking in the magic power of such a worthless fellow feels a little disappointing.”

Grace spoke so as if to spit out and her face distorted in displeasure.

――[{{furigana|Harvest|Magic Power Suction}}]

Aine stared at the shining Grace who increased to be even more beautiful.

That was the Corruption Armament of Koros. Normally, using a weapon would consume the magic power drastically. However Koros was an exception. It plundered the magic power of the opponent and absorbed it as its own magic power. With that magic power, the hair and the eyes of the user shined even more beautifully.

Harvest was like something that could independently perform Heart Hybrid.

Grace noticed Aine’s gaze and she showed her an angelic smile like a completely different person.

“Nee-sama. I plan to purge the eyesores immediately, so you don’t need to worry.”

“Purge you say……”

Aine’s spine turned cold.

Grace spread open her arms fully and announced with a voice that resounded all over the audience room.

“Nee-sama is the legitimate emperor of the Vatlantis Empire. But, because she has just come home, I will continue to fulfill the official business for a while yet. However eventually Nee-sama will take over and I will become her aide. That’s it!”

Leaving those words behind, she turned her back on the audience room that was whirling in chaos, Grace then took Aine’s hand.

“Let’s go, Nee-sama. There is a lot that I want to talk about with you.”

“Ye, yes……”

Aine let herself get pulled away by Grace and left the audience room.