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

===Part 7===

At the end of the main road&mdash;

There was a wooden outdoor stage.

This type of small versatile arena would normally be used for putting on plays or skits.

The audience seating was filled with people and spirits.

Young maidens standing on the stage were banging drums.

They were dressed in animal costumes featuring ears and tails, playing musical instruments with apparent joy.

"That's..."

Kamito seemed to recall seeing them somewhere before.

...Or rather, they were acquaintances of the okay sort.

"They are members of Team Cernunnos, no?"

Rinslet remarked in surprise.

Indeed, they were a team whom Kamito had battled against during the mock exams.

Back when they were still a two-man team, Kamito and Claire had met a painful defeat at the hands of this strong team, whose leader was a druid girl employing a powerful beast swarm spirit.

"...Looks like it."

Kamito nodded.

"Girls, sing and dance even more happily&mdash;"

The druid girl raised her staff and shouted.

As though responding to her, the spirits hovering over the audience seating flashed.

The drums continued to bang...

"Eh, even though the music sounds primitive, the spirits seem to like it."

"Compared to the somber kagura, this is much better."

"Umm, it is true that my body is starting to move involuntarily..."

Ellis began tapping to the beat with the tip of her foot.

Going over&mdash;

"Oh, I spot the Captain!"

"Really~ What is she doing here~?"

Girls with towels around their heads gathered around.

"Y-You girls...!?"

Ellis exclaimed in a fluster.

The girls running over were her fellow Sylphid Knights.

"Don't tell me the Captain will be performing in the Festa too~?"

Kamito somehow sensed evil in the Knight girl's smile.

"U-Umm, I suppose."

"No way! I thought the Captain would never do anything like those idols!"

"I-I have all kinds of reasons!"

Ellis coughed deliberately, blushing deeply.

"...By the way, judging from your outfits, you girls will be performing in the Festa too, right?"

"Yes, the five of us underclassmen have formed a group called the Wind Fairies."

The knight girls spun around, causing their skirts to float.

"It's fine as long as it doesn't affect our responsibilities as knights, right?"

"Yes, of course&mdash;"

Ellis stared hard at her underclassman's tiny skirt.

"Th-That skirt's length, isn't that a bit shameless?"

"Really~?"

The girl cocked her head in reply.

...They were definitely wearing quite tiny skirts.

"You cannot expose so much thigh!"

"Eh~, but the spirits clearly prefer this..."

"That's right, also, they're wearing even more outrageous clothes over there."

"...Over there?"

Ellis frowned. The girl pointed at the stage ahead.

While Team Cernunnos was exiting the stage while the audience applauded, another group was entering to replace them.

Appearing on stage was&mdash;

A unit of beautiful princess maidens clad in dresses with the color of night.

With jewels on their tiaras shining like stars, jet-black dresses that seemed as though they would meld into the darkness of the night, they were full of mysterious allure all over.

This scene was as though dancing spirits of the night had descended.

"Somehow, this feels like the real deal..."

Claire gulped.

"These costumes are too high level."

"But what about the critical part, their performance?"

The five girls bowed at the audience then&mdash;

Djen~, djen djen, djen~!

A guitar sounded.

"&mdash;!"

Instantly, the maidens' clear shouts dominated the entire venue.

It was the newest kagura, with an intense beat, tried and tested in cities.

The ambiance at the venue instantly exploded.

The audience was even more enthusiastic than when Team Cernunnos was on stage. The glow of divine power from the spirits also turned into all kinds of colors.

"...W-What is this...!?"

"Is this kagura...!?"

Claire and the others were conquered by this kagura that was completely different from their own performance.

Playing stylish music, dancing freely across the stage.

The black dresses fluttered, countless jet-black wings danced in the air&mdash;

When their song finally ended&mdash;

Thunderous applause burst forth from the audience.

The maidens responded with cool expressions and got off the stage.

"..."

Claire silently bit her lip.

The gap between their performances had shocked her greatly.

Dark Evangel was the name of the unit.

One of the members descending from the stage fixed her gaze on Claire.

"Claire Rouge... Hmph, you guys will be performing at the Festa?"

She spoke with a mocking tone.

In that instant, Claire's twintails jumped up.

"...Yeah, that's right. Got a problem with that?"

"Hey Claire&mdash;"

Kamito was going to stop her.

"Yes, of course, Calamity Queen's sister&mdash;"

"...What did you say!?"

"If small fry like you guys perform, the two great spirits will end up so disappointed."

"We will win for sure. You can go suck your thumbs and watch."

"At least that would be better than offering an awful kagura in front of everyone&mdash;"

The girls of Dark Evangel were covering their mouths, snickering to themselves.

"...Y-You, w-what did you say...!?"

"Claire, violence cannot be used."

"I understand how you feel, but hold it in. The Blade Dance is coming soon."

Rinslet and Ellis grabbed Claire's shoulders when she still wanted to swing Flametongue.

"B-But...!"

Claire glared reluctantly at those who had provoked her, enduring.

"Hmph, I can't believe you people won the right to enter the Blade Dance. Something must be wrong."

"The Laurenfrost hillbilly nobles, the totally useless Lost Queen&mdash;"

"Velsaria Eva? I can't believe she dappled in Cursed Armament Seals. A total dishonor to the whole school, what is there to be proud of?"

"What, how dare you... insult my esteemed sister!"

"Ellis, calm down&mdash;"

This time, it was Kamito's turn to grab Ellis by the arm.

"&mdash;I-I absolutely won't lose to you."

Claire's voice trembled as she pointed at them, declaring steadfastly.

"Ho, please make us look forward to it."

"Because whom we follow is the ''lord producer of darkness''."

With a sneer on their faces, the members of Dark Evangel scattered black feathers at Team Scarlet from their dresses before leaving.

"...~, unforgivable, unforgivable. I cannot believe they called the Laurenfrosts hillbilly nobles!"

Rinslet kept stomping her foot.

"Although I am accustomed to malicious slander from others, I still feel offended here."

Fianna quietly whispered.

As for Claire&mdash;

She was staring intently at the backs of the departing members of Dark Evangel.

"..."

"Claire?"

Kamito asked her, causing Claire to slowly turn her head back.

"Guys, we must win, no matter what it takes&mdash;"

"Yes, this concerns the honor of nobles!"

"I cannot forgive them for insulting my esteemed sister&mdash;"

"Fufufu... I shall conduct a cursing ceremony to give them nightmares about chickens every night, preventing them from sleeping."

"Let's not do that."

Kamito frantically stopped Fianna who had taken out an effigy used for suspicious rituals.

Claire and the rest of the girls exchanged glances, nodding silently.

Dark Evangel's provocation had evidently fired up the young ladies' hearts.

However, from what Kamito could see, given their current state, forget about Dark Evangel that they had just witnessed, even defeating other groups would be stretch&mdash;

"...Come, let's continue training. Every second counts now," said Claire.

"First, we need to pick a new song&mdash;"

"Yes. As much as it frustrates me, Dark Evangel's song is very polished."

"I suppose finding an instructor specializing in kagura would be best&mdash;"

With serious expressions on their faces, the girls brought up suggestions to one another.

"..."

Watching them like that, Kamito&mdash;

Somehow, he felt he understood the true reason why Greyworth had ordered them to participate in this Elemental Festa.

(In that case, what I am able to do is&mdash;)

Although it pissed him off that he was going along with Greyworth's plan, he felt that it was not a bad thing in the current situation.

Also&mdash;

(...Just now, I felt a bit angry when my teammates were insulted.)

"Kamito, what's wrong?"

"...Listen, everyone. Do you want to beat those people?"

Kamito quietly began to speak&mdash;

"Yes, that goes without saying."

"I cannot allow such words to be spoken with impunity&mdash;"

"You seriously wanna win, right?"

When Kamito repeated himself, the girls nodded vigorously.

"&mdash;In that case, could you leave the rest to me, your manager?"

Kamito swept his gaze across all their faces.

"I will make you win."