Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume14 Chapter7 (section)

===Part 1===

Parting ways with Kamito and Claire at the nap room, Ellis was taken to the medical bay where Velsaria was at.

"Over here&mdash;"

The instant the girl opened the door, Ellis was greeted with a shocking sight.

"...! E-Esteemed sister!"

Ellis was rooted to the spot in shock.

A gigantic coffin-like device was sitting in the center of the medical bay, giving off strange and grating noises. Glowing faintly, the coffin was connected to a number of cables.

&mdash;And inside was Velsaria.

Of course, she had not donned that elemental waffe that resembled a "fortress." Covering her naked body, beautiful as a sculpture, was a sheer gown.

Faintly illuminated by spirit crystals, she was in deep slumber.

"What... on earth is this..."

Ellis murmured in shock.

"This is restorative equipment custom made for her using healing spirit crystals. Due to operating beyond the activity duration limit, an according price needs to be paid."

The girl who originated from the Instructional School replied expressionlessly.

"...Price?"

While saying that, Ellis approached the healing machine where Velsaria was sleeping within.

"What on earth is up with that elemental waffe!? Besides, my esteemed sister should have lost the power of the spirit contract due to the side effects of her cursed seal armament going berserk&mdash;"

"&mdash;That was no elemental waffe. Instead, it is an experimental 'elemental panzer.'"

"...!"

Hearing a familiar voice, Ellis instantly raised her guard.

She looked back to see a tall woman standing by the door, exhaling smoke from a pipe.

Red eyes, almost bewitching, paired with beautiful emerald hair.

Her long and pointy ears were precisely the trait of the Elfim race, the Forest Dwellers.

"...! Vivian Melosa!"

Ellis' body took action in reflex.

She accelerated and closed in instantly, grabbing the woman by her lab coat's collar.

"What is a Murders merchant doing here&mdash;!?"

The woman was the perpetrator who had carved a cursed armament seal on Velsaria's heart.

She was an unforgivable enemy from Ellis' perspective.

"You should have been thrown into the Balsas Prison&mdash;"

"Indeed, together with your sister."

"...C-Curse you&mdash;"

Ellis applied more force.

"Good to see you too. I am the one performing maintenance for her."

"...What did you say?"

"After all, this elemental panzer is something I remodeled. I am in charge of your sister's treatment and the only one deeply knowledgeable about her condition."

"What kind of joke is this&mdash;"

"...Ellis, she is speaking... the truth..."

&mdash;At this moment, Ellis heard a pained voice from behind.

"Esteemed sister...!"

The healing machine's glass cover opened slowly and Velsaria came out.

Stumbling to stand up, she glanced sharply at Vivian.

"Leave me, witch&mdash;"

"...Very well. However, I need to analyze the combat data later on."

Vivian shrugged. After glancing at Ellis who was still glaring at her, she left the room.

The Instructional School girl who had led the way also bowed to take her leave and disappeared silently.

Velsaria turned to face Ellis.

"...It has been a while, Ellis."

She began to speak while coughing.

"Why...? Why are you on this ship&mdash;"

Ellis frantically rushed forward to support her foster sister whose unsteady body looked like it would fall any moment.

"Also, what is this device? Why is a Murders merchant here?"

"I was sought out by Rubia Elstein to join her League of Inferno. The same goes for the Murders witch. Ideology and conviction are irrelevant here. Those with ability were simply recruited to join under her banner, that is all&mdash;"

"...League of Inferno."

Ellis repeated the name.

"In that case, you know of that darkness&mdash;"

"Yes, I have heard everything from the Calamity Queen. Stemming from such grounds, I have decided to return to the battlefield, devoting myself to combat in order to exterminate the Otherworldly Darkness invading the human realm."

"..."

Ellis felt intimidated by her strong gaze. Those eyes looked the same as when Velsaria was leading the Sylphid Knights, crushing everything with absolute power.

"B-But you should have lost the power of the spirit contract&mdash;"

"...Indeed. Just as the witch said, strictly speaking, what you witnessed was not an elemental waffe."

"I remember it being referred to as an 'elemental panzer'&mdash;"

"Indeed, an experimental model acquired by the Calamity Queen from the Theocracy, then remodeled by that woman's hand. It would be better described as turning a militarized spirit into an elemental waffe, perhaps? The latest in enchanted equipment, using Bloodstone for the reactor with a fortress spirit's power sealed within&mdash;It operates by absorbing divine power limitlessly, along the same principles as that Instructional School girl's Jester's Vise&mdash;"

"...!"

Indeed, Velsaria had lost the power to contract with spirits. However, her abundant divine power remained intact. Using the power of spirit engineering, a simulated elemental waffe could be created, allowing her to regain an elementalist's power.

"...B-But by using that kind of equipment, your body will...!"

"It is a body that was lying at death's door once. Already eroded by a curse armament seal, suppose this body could eliminate the Darkness invading the empire... Cough...!"

"Esteemed sister&mdash;"

"...Worry not... I, cough, am a knight of the Fahrengart."

"..."

Hearing those words, Ellis was rendered speechless.

Velsaria's determination could not be stopped by anyone.

As her younger sister, Ellis knew this better than anyone.

She was a knight of Ordesia, more noble and high-minded than anyone.

Just as Ellis fell silent&mdash;

"..Ellis, I heard you emerged triumphant at the Blade Dance."

Velsaria changed the subject and spoke calmly.

"Yes. Thanks to Kamito and the comrades who fought alongside me, I have become stronger."

"...Comrades huh?"

She spoke in self-deprecation.

"I too, if only I had realized that sooner..."

Instantly, Velsaria's gaze began to wander afar&mdash;

"Speaking of which, I have a question for you&mdash;"

She spoke as though it had suddenly occurred to her.

"What is it?"

"You and Ren&mdash;no, Kazehaya Kamito&mdash;have you done it already?"

"...E-Esteemed sister!?"

Ellis yelled with her face bright red.

It was almost impossible to imagine such words coming from Velsaria's mouth.

"W-What do you mean... by having 'done it'!?"

"U-Umm, well..."

Hearing that, Velsaria's face turned just as red and she stammered.

"Uh, h-holding hands?"

Her voice was so quiet that it sounded like she was murmuring to herself.

"...Hands?"

Ellis looked puzzled.

"R-Right... Yes, we have held hands&mdash;"

"...Really? Holding hands... W-What a swift development..."

"..."

Hearing her sister's whispers, Ellis broke out in cold sweat.

Subconsciously, she touched her own lips lightly with her finger.

In terms of discipline, Velsaria was even stricter than Ellis.

...Forget about holding hands, ''more than that'' had happened. However, there was no way Ellis could bring herself to say that aloud.