Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume15 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 2===

"...Ugh... Owww..."

The next instant after Claire and her party jumped into the vortex of light while huddled together&mdash;

Kamito fell down amidst total darkness.

(This place is...?)

&mdash;Just as he was about to make his body upright, he suddenly noticed something important.

(...I-I can't breathe!?)

Kamito's nose was under the weight of something elastic, preventing him from breathing. ''Don't tell me I got buried under a mountain of rubble because of that gigantic gravity sphere''&mdash;

(...It's no joke if I really got buried alive!)

Kamito tried every way to get himself out and grabbed the object pressing against his nose.

Boing.

He felt a soft and supple texture. His fingers sensed a bit of warmth.

(...W-What is this?)

Confronted with this incredible tactile feeling, Kamito tilted his head in puzzlement.

Boing. Boing boing.

"Hyah!"

"...!?"

Suddenly, Kamito heard a scream overhead.

"O-O, O-O fire, bring forth light!"

In the next instant, a small fireball appeared in the darkness with a pop.

What entered his view was&mdash;

(...C-Claire!?)

Kamito cried out in his heart.

With a fireball in her hand, Claire looked down at Kamito with a shocked expression.

(...In other words, what blocked my face just now, don't tell me it was...)

Indeed... That soft and elastic object was Claire's bottom.

"Y-You, y-you, w-what, w-what are you doing~...!?"

Rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble...!

Claire's face went bright red while her crimson hair rose up like a cat.

"W-Wait, I was just trying to figure out my surroundings..."

Kamito instantly panicked and explained frantically.

"Because it felt nice, so I couldn't help... Ah&mdash;"

"...~Tsk, y-you, y-you pervert and beast of lust~!"

Tearfully, Claire lost her temper and summoned Flametongue in her hand.

"I-I haven't even had a b-bath yet... You jerk!"

"B-By the time I came to my senses, you were already on top of me, honest...!"

Confronted with Claire who was angry for a strange reason, Kamito frantically shook his head.

"...S-Say, where is this place?"

Kamito stood up and looked around.

"T-Trying to change the subject huh..."

Despite her displeasure, Claire still used the fireball lit on her palm to illuminate the surroundings.

Numerous ice stalactites were growing from the ceiling while hard ice covered the floor... At the very least, this was not the same temple as where Kamito and company were at earlier.

(...By the way, this place looks a bit familiar.)

Where had he seen it? It should have been recent...

"I've been here before... I think."

"What is going on?"

Frowning, Claire increased the fireball's brightness.

&mdash;Next, they found Ellis and Fianna collapsed nearby.

"Are they okay?"

Kamito knelt down and gently rocked them by the shoulder.

"...Ooh, mmm... Kamito?"

"...Kamito-kun?"

Ellis and Fianna opened their eyes.

"Fianna, what happened? What on earth was that vortex of light earlier&mdash;"

Claire's question went straight to the point.

"...Looks like the ''teleportation'' was a success."

Fianna pressed on her temples while she replied softly.

"Teleportation?"

"Yes, that temple was a ''teleportation device'' provided to royals to use for escaping the imperial capital."

"...I see now. Oh, so that's what you meant by it being not available for Arneus."

A person without an elementalist's power would not be able to activate the magic device either, despite being part of the royal bloodline. Even if Arneus knew of the location's existence, he would still be unable to send pursuers.

"So, where did we teleport to?"

"Hmm, supposing there was no mistake in setting the coordinates, it is probably..."

At that moment, a human presence approached on the other side of the darkness.

"...!"

The four of them instantly raised their guard.

Apart from Kamito and company, did someone else pass through the vortex of light in pursuit...?

With nervous expressions, the group stared intently into the depths of the dark.

Only to see appearing from there&mdash;

"...Who goes there!?"

"Rinslet!?"

It turned out to be Rinslet, holding an ice arrow in her hand, accompanied by the wide-eyed Mireille.