Editing BlazBlue:Spiral Shift - Hyokujin no Eiyu (section)

===Part 3===

The long, red-carpeted corridor was empty and silent.
　
As he listened to the sound of his own footsteps, Jin stared blankly ahead.

Tomorrow is the battle. Even though he knew this, Jin's feelings did not tremble with elation or anxiety.

They were like the surface of a frozen lake that did not know the wind. The only thing he could do was to organize the necessary information in his mind.

He had received information about the war zone in advance and already read through it several times, but he should probably read through it again before he arrived. There was no way he would be able to live comfortably on a battlefield. He needed to rest up tonight and prepare for the harsh environment.

(Hm... I have nothing in particular to do. Let's get to the lodging house without delay.)

Jin was just going to do what he had to then would head to bed early. He didn't need to do anything else. He was going to the battlefield to fight, to win, to lose, or to die.

As he moved his legs steadily, some people appeared in front of Jin.

There were three of them. They were all wearing distinctive white costumes that concealed their true identities — the Wings of Justice.

Like the two in Kagura's office, they wore a long cape that covered their bodies, while their face was hidden by a deep hood and a one-eyed mask.

However, the first one was different.

She was wearing a white cape, which indicated that she belonged to the Zeroth Squadron, but her front was open, exposing the clothes she had put on underneath. There was no mask, and her bare face was exposed along with her long hair, which was tied up in two.

She was still young. She didn't look much older than Jin. However, it seems that her rank was higher than Jin's. It could be guessed from the design of the cape she wore, and most importantly, the way she proudly carried two subordinates while wearing her uniform.

Just before they passed each other, Jin moved to the end of the corridor himself, then stopped, made a slight salute, and let the woman from the Zeroth Squadron go ahead of him.

But just as she passed in front of Jin, the woman from the Zeroth Squadron stopped in her tracks.

A beat later, the two behind her also stopped.

The purpose was soon apparent. The woman in the lead looked back at Jin.

"Are you Lieutenant Jin Kisaragi?"

Along with her words, she caught Jin's gaze as if she was judging him.

It was not a pleasant look.

The woman who turned to him had a reasonably well-proportioned figure, and a seductive body that would excite any man, as could be seen from her clothing that clearly showed the unevenness of her body. The lips on her face expressed a gentle arc.

But her eyes were wrong.

Even though she had a soft expression, her eyes were cool and inorganic, as if they were glass beads inlaid with no flicker of emotion.

There was no emotion there, no emotion worthy of a smile. Jin felt as if he was being stared at by a doll.

“I heard the story. I heard that you defeated that red devil all by yourself.”

The woman stepped closer, watching Jin from head to toe with glass marble eyes.

He kept his mouth shut as he pulled his momentarily thrown gaze back to the front, Ignoring her. He didn't want to get into trouble by saying something he didn't want to.

However, it seemed that his intentions had leaked out from somewhere. Two members of the Zeroth Squadron, who were standing behind the woman, revealed their displeasure from beneath their masks.

"You, what's with your attitude!"

From the sound of his voice, he was a man underneath the mask. When the man stepped forward as if to grab her, the unmasked woman stopped him with her hand without even giving him a glance.

The woman's gaze slowly lowered, lighting a dull glow of interest in Jin's hand.

There was Jin's sword.

“Is that a Nox Nyctores?”

“That’s right.”

He didn't expect she would be able to guess at a glance without even having to pick it up.

Nox Nyctores are known to exist, but not many people know what they actually look like.

The unrest made Jin's mouth light up. Immediately after, he frowned at himself for reacting carelessly and clicked his tongue.

"Tch, you. Cut it or else..."

The masked men leaned forward again at the sound of his tongue.

But, interrupting the words of warning, a dull thud and crushing sound echoed low in the quiet hallway.

"Hey..."

"Colonel Lapislazuli...?"

The masked men were dismayed, even though their expressions were not visible. Against this backdrop, the woman called "Colonel Lapislazuli" smiled.

What she was looking at was a man-made dent right next to Jin's... face. The wall material was cracked and dented in a round shape, as if it had been struck with a tremendous force.

There, just a moment ago, was Jin's head.

Jin, who quickly swerved to the side was unharmed. This apparently amused her to no end. She chuckled and laughed.

“I'm impressed. You're just as good as they say you are. Good response."

As she said this, she reached out her hand casually. By the time Jin noticed the movement, it was too late and the woman's fingers caught Jin's chin.

Even though it looked like she was just resting her finger, somehow the force of her touch was even stronger than if he were to be forcefully grabbed with no chance for refusal.

He didn't have time to ask what she was going to do. Suddenly, a strong force pulled him closer, and the tip of the woman's tongue traced over Jin's mouth, tickling him away.

He noticed it immediately. It was his blood that she had licked off. The cut on the edge of his mouth from when Kagura had punched him earlier stung in discomfort.

While holding Jin's chin, the woman from the Zeroth Squadron whispered in a strangely seductive way.

"But this is the military. You'd better be careful how you talk and conduct yourself."

The voice was too disturbing for just a piece of mere advice. At the same time, she seemed to be enjoying it.

Jin vowed to ignore it this time. He kept his posture in the salute he had made and stared straight into the empty space.

Eventually, the woman's hand left Jin's chin. Gazing at Jin again, the woman shook her shoulders.

“Kukuku. You're an interesting man. I'm Meifang Lapislazuli, a colonel. It is reassuring to have a guard such as yourself joining the fight. At all costs, do your utmost for the sake of the Imperator.”

As she said this, her long hair fluttered silently, and the woman who called herself Meifang walked away. The destination must have been Kagura's office.

Looking at her white back as she walked away, Jin felt a hint of sympathy. It's a tough job to be a branch chief or commander-in-chief when you have to deal with people like that.

After watching out as the three shadows were sucked into the sunlight-melted corridor with a side glance. Jin turned around and left the place as quickly as he could.



After passing through the corridor, Jin arrived at the elevator hall of the Yabiko branch of the Novus Orbis Librarium.

Soft sunlight streamed in through the skylight on the high ceiling, filling the area with a clean beauty.

At the back of the atrium, a statue of a white goddess stood with a book open and a compassionate gaze on the world below. The polished pale floor was like a mirror even though many people came and went every day, and it seemed to glow faintly in the sunlight.

In the inner part of the circular hall, there stood statuses that imitated the goddess as one would expect. The goddess is a symbol of order. A world properly controlled by the right power. That is the philosophy of the Novus Orbis Librarium, and it is also a guideline that many guards, including Jin, are taught at the military academy.

The two elevators set up between the small statues of the goddess were Jin's way home.

A small figure who had been gazing at the stairwell wandered up to Jin, who headed straight for the door without a second glance.

"Lieutenant Jin Kisaragi, correct?"

It sounded like something he had heard just a moment ago.

But this time it was not a woman who approached him, but a man. He was probably a bit younger than Jin. A young boy you can call him.

There was the impression that he was from the same military academy as Jin. He wore the same blue uniform, and on his head he wore a blue beret, and looked up at Jin from underneath it.

It was someone Jin didn't know. Raising an eyebrow slightly, Jin cast a glance at the boy.

"Yeah, that’s right and who are you?"

“I'm so glad. I was told that you would come if I waited here, but you didn't show up at all, so I was afraid that I might have misunderstood.”

He let out a big breath and patted his chest exaggeratedly, then he hurriedly straightened his back and took a firm posture of salute.

"Nice to meet you, Lieutenant. I'm '''──……──'''"

"Wait... what? What did you say...?"

Suddenly, the boy's words became inaudible, as if mixed with noise. Putting his hand to his ear to suppress the ringing in his ears, Jin frowned and asked.

The boy paused for a beat, then straightened up even more and answered.

"Yes, I am Corporal Honoka. I will be taking care of Lieutenant Kisaragi on the battlefield. Please make my acquaintance from now on!"

Despite his nervousness, Honoka said this with a smile on his face and a youthful, fresh tone of voice.

"Oh, yeah, ...right."

Jin just replied in an unhappy voice. His brow was naturally wrinkled.

The boy soldier, who called himself Honoka, was a valet, so to speak, provided by the Kisaragi family, the house where Jin grew up.

He repeatedly told them in advance that he didn't want any, but they apparently didn't take him up on that offer.

In the first place, it is customary for the people of the "Duodecim" - the aristocratic families with special power in the Librarium, including the Kisaragi family - to prepare a valet when they are appointed as officers.

For Jin, the Kisaragi family is the family that took him in as a child when he had nowhere else to go, and has taken care of him in every way. Even though he was being touted as the next head of the family, there was no way he could treat the family's arrangements with disrespect.

"Um, Lieutenant? If I may ask, are you unwell?"

Honoka peeked at Jin, who sank into silence and had a nervous look on his face.

Jin looked up with a gasp and shook his head lightly. It didn't matter to him whether he was a valet, a member of one of the Duodecim, his family background, or his upbringing, as long as he was on his way to war.

"No, it's nothing. I'm fine."

The tone of his voice was almost as if he was shouting at him, but he didn't care and walked to the elevator.

Honoka quickly followed and reached his arm out from under Jin's arm to press the switch for the elevator.

Soon, without a sound, the elevator arrived as if it were sliding into place. Jin got in, then Honoka, who was waiting for him, ran inside, where he operated the button.

Jin looked at him sideways. The way he followed him around was reminiscent of a puppy.

The boy probably didn't know much about the relationship between Jin and the Duodecim, nor did he know where he was going. That made him feel a little sorry for him.

(But I don't know anything about the war, either.)

Jin thought to himself as he watched the number of floors displayed on the elevator as it descended.

So far, Jin has only lived in the heavily guarded homes of the Duodecim families and the military academy, which is directly controlled and protected by the Librarium.

Growing up in a privileged family, he was used to situations where his life was threatened, but this was the first time he had actually been in a war zone.

Tomorrow, the landscape of Jin’s world would probably be completely altered. 

But that still didn't shake Jin's heart. His place will change. That was all.

That's all there was to it.