Baka-Tsuki - User contributions [en]

Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:BR SS Extra.5

2016-05-09T17:50:09Z

130.212.95.229:

==The Terrifying Mystery Hotpot Battle==
[[image:STnBD_BR_Extra.5.jpg|thumb]]

===Part 1===

One day, after finishing their patrol of the Academy town, Kamito and Ellis returned to the Sylphid Knights headquarters inside the Academy to write their report.

"Fortunately, things are peaceful today too—"

"Mm-hmm. After that match, the Academy's disrupted order has gradually recovered."

After recording the results of today's patrol in her report, Ellis nodded firmly.

Indeed, for the past few days, conflicts and all kinds of problems in the Academy were decreasing at a visible rate.

The direct reason one could think of was most likely the match held one week ago for determining the Academy's representatives for the Blade Dance.

On one side was the Academy's strongest elementalist and former captain of the Sylphid Knights, Velsaria Eva. Yet such an accomplished character had been defeated spectacularly by the team of the current captain of the Knights, Ellis.

Thanks to that, the members of the Sylphid Knights who originally looked down on Ellis began to approve of their captain, thus finally reviving the organization's functionality.

"...Thus, today's work is over. Good job, Kamito."

Putting the report into a file, Ellis stood up from her chair.

Just as she was about to return the file to a shelf, Ellis suddenly stopped.

"...Oh right. I almost forgot this."

Ellis reached for a file on the side and sighed lightly.

"...What's that?"

"Hmm, this is a report about complaints the Knights have received from students. But due to the recent lack of manpower, we did not have the luxury of handling these matters, hence we could only—"

While answering Kamito's question, Ellis flipped through the file with a fluttering sound.

"A few days ago, there has been a rumor about strange noises coming from the storehouse behind the Academy. Since it was quite unsettling, the Knights were asked to investigate, but the matter was forgotten amidst all the hectic work—"

"There's a storehouse behind the Academy?"

Kamito asked with his head tilted. There was only a stable behind the school building without any storehouse to his knowledge.

"...Well, my original dwelling did look kind of like a storehouse."

"L-Let us not dig up the past, okay...?"

Ellis averted eye contact in a fluster, coughed and cleared her throat.

"This storehouse is referring to a building in the forest behind the Academy."

"Inside the forest huh? In that case, couldn't the strange noises be made by a spirit that had gotten lost and entered it?"

"More than likely, that is probably what happened—"

Ellis nodded without rejecting the idea.

"However, there is a part of the rumor that is quite concerning."

"...Quite concerning?"

"Indeed... Apparently, someone has seen a figure inside the storehouse."

"A figure huh... I see now."

Kamito fell into deep thought and muttered quietly.

Only high-ranked spirits like Est were capable of expressing fully human forms. It would be unthinkable for such a high-ranked spirit to be appearing in that kind of place.

"Oh well, it is just a rumor after all. That place has always been involved with all kinds of legends."

"Legends?"

"Indeed. Kamito, you may not know since you are new, but one legend tells of a spirit residing there that has the ability to grant all wishes."

"The ability to grant all wishes... How can such a convenient spirit exist?"

Kamito remarked with a raised eyebrow. If anything in this world was capable of that, it would have to be something on the same level as the miracle of the Elemental Lords granted to victors of the Blade Dance tournament.

"Naturally, this is a rumor circulating among gossiping students. In truth, nosy students have gone to investigate many times in the past, but never found even a shadow of the spirit."

Saying that, Ellis shrugged.

"...That being said, since complaints have been filed, an investigation must be conducted. My apologies, Kamito, but could you accompany me?"

"Sure, I'm actually a bit curious about that rumor too."

As a result, the two of them walked to the storehouse in the forest with lanterns in their hands.

===Part 2===

The sun had set completely. The forest was totally dark.

The lantern glowed from a sealed fire spirit, illuminating the outline of the building standing in the middle of the forest.

"...Hey Ellis."

"What is the matter?"

"Why did they build a house in this kind of place?"

Looking at it from outside, it did not look like a storehouse no matter what—

Rather, it seemed more like someone's residence, and quite a grand mansion to boot.

"This was originally the headmistress' secondary residence that also served as a research facility."

"...Greyworth the hag's lab, huh?"

Kamito muttered with a bitter face.

Brushing aside the vines around the grated gate, Ellis opened the entrance and entered.

"Using an entire house for storage, that's really generous."

"Really? Back home, the storehouse was converted from an entire ancient castle."

"That's a totally different scale..."

Kamito lowered his voice and remarked in exasperation.

(...Come to think of it, Ellis is a young lady from a high-ranking aristocratic family.)

Due to interacting normally with the girls all the time, Kamito accidentally forgot this fact. If anything, Ellis and the other girls were supposed to be noble young ladies whom commoners like Kamito could not retort a single word against.

"Even so, this place really creeps me out when I look at it..."

The house itself was quite magnificent, but the walls were overgrown with countless brambles and ivy vines, giving off a creepy atmosphere like a standard haunted house... Given such an appearance, it was no wonder that there were so many strange rumors.

"...It's like anything could rush out any time."

"S-Stop saying nonsense...!"

Kamito simply whispered but Ellis shuddered on the side.

"...Ellis, don't tell me you're afraid of ghosts?"

"O-O-O-Of course not! I-I-I will have you know that I am a knight from the House of Fahrengart!"

Ellis denied with her face bright red.

"...Oh okay. Sorry about that."

Kamito smiled wryly in return and reached for the door handle.

===Part 3===

...C-Creak... The stairs groaned with every step.

The interior of the house was covered in dust. None of the spirit crystals installed on the walls for lighting reacted when infused with divine power. The spirits in them had probably all escaped long ago.

"Careful or else you might break the floorboards."

"Y-Yes, be careful... Wah!"

Kamito swiftly caught Ellis by the arm just as her step penetrated a floorboard.

"...Are you okay, Ellis?"

"Y-Yes, I suppose, I am fine..."

Blushing bright red, Ellis shook off Kamito's hand.

"L-Let us proceed..."

Clearing her throat, Ellis stepped forward.

Then she stopped in front of a room with a sign saying library.

"According to reports, the sighted figure was apparently in this room on the second floor—"

Gripping the hilt of the sword at her waist, Ellis opened the door.

From behind the door came a slight whiff of odor. The interior of the room was surrounded by bookshelves. The floor had been carefully swept clean and there was not a speck of dust in the corridor in front of the room either.

"Are these books all part of Greyworth's collection?"

"Yes, they are all ancient texts gathered from the headmistress' student days. But of course, precious grimoires have all been donated to the Academy's library. None of the books remaining here are particularly valuable."

"But if that's the case, there's something bothering me."

"...Something bothering you?"

Kamito walked to the shelves in front of him and reached for the spine of a book.

"This book's cover is way too new—"

"What!?"

Seeing the cover of the book that Kamito had pulled out, Ellis instantly blushed to her ears.

"''S-Secret Garden''...?"

Indeed, rather than ancient grimoires—

These were romance novels of a slightly excessively racy nature, targeted towards girls.

"This one, this one, and this one too..."

Kamito took out the books from the shelf one by one. ''Blooming Flower in the Night'', ''Young Lady in the Dungeon'', ''The Bullying Count''—All books of this genre.

"W-Why are such shameless books here...!?"

"...Well, for some reason, I can imagine the reason."

Kamito shrugged and tapped the cover of a book.

"...By the way, don't you find this lineup of books quite familiar—?"

—At that very moment...

"...Hmm? I think I heard something?"

Kamito suddenly looked up.

"W-What!? Q-Quit making strange remarks!"

"No, it's true—"

...than night... pitch-black darkness... devour the world... harbinger of chaos—

"...!?"

Inside the quiet room, distant and bizarre whispers were echoing.

Kamito and Ellis looked at each other then rushed into the corridor.

...Trial... here... alternate dimensional... portal—

"An incantation of spirit magic?"

Ellis charged at the voice's direction in one breath—

"Ellis, wait up! I've heard this voice somewhere before—"

"Brazen knave, what vile machinations are you attempting here!?"

Completely ignoring Kamito's advice, Ellis opened the room's door using wind magic.

"Kyahhh!" "What is going on!?" "Milady~!" "Hya!"

The storm raged inside the room, causing the girls inside to scream one after another.

"...Y-You!?"

Thus, Ellis froze in her pose, in the middle of releasing magic.

===Part 4===

"You lot again, problem children of Raven Class!"

Holding the confiscated racy books in her arms, Ellis glared severely at the four girls before her—Claire, Fianna, Rinslet and her maid Carol.

"Y-You've got us wrong..."

"We certainly did not come here to read books or the like!"

Claire and Rinslet were desperately denying the evidence before their eyes.

"Oh? In that case, why is your name written here?"

"U-Umm..."

Claire's gaze escaped to the side.

"Violation of school rules. The Sylphid Knights will step in and handle these things."

"Ah, so cruel!" "You are going too far!"

"Actually, Ellis, aren't you interested in them as well?"

"L-Like, like anyone would be interested in such stupid..."

Fianna's murmur instantly turned Ellis' face bright red in a fluster.

"...In the end, the truth behind the rumor turns out to be Claire and the rest of you."

Watching these young ladies, Kamito sighed in exasperation.

School rules forbade the possession of reading material that could corrupt public morals. To evade the Knights' inspections, Claire and her friends had hidden the books here then sneaked in to read them.

However, Kamito was quite concerned about Claire's attitude.

Claire still seemed a bit restless and uneasy, like she had more to hide.

(...True, Fianna seemed to be chanting some kind of magic just now.)

Kamito looked around the room, made a mess by the wind.

Then he noticed a book that had fallen in a corner.

The wind must have blown it there just now. Unlike the bright covers of the girls' romance novels, it was a grimoire with an aged leather cover. Kamito picked up the book.

"Is this book from the headmistress' collection by any chance?"

Ellis narrowed her eyes and stared at Claire and the others.

"By the way, I heard a strange magical incantation earlier. What on earth was that?"

"W-Well..."

Claire, Rinslet and Fianna exchanged looks in embarrassment—

Then finally, they sighed in resignation.

"...Well, since you witnessed it, we have no choice but to confess."

"Earlier, we were trying out a certain ritual recorded in this book."

"What ritual?"

Hearing Fianna's answer, Ellis raised an eyebrow in doubt.

The girls had discovered ''that book'' purely by chance.

They were using the library to hide their racy reading material, but discovered the book hidden in the inside of the bookshelf. Given Fianna's excellent aptitude as a princess maiden, she had instinctively discovered this grimoire which definitely held no ordinary power.

Fianna had taken the book back to her room and spent many days to decipher it. Then she discovered that something unbelievable was written in this book.

"...Something unbelievable huh?"

"Yes, what this book records is—"

Fianna paused and spoke with a serious expression.

"The method to summon a spirit capable of granting any wish—"

"What... did you say..."

Ellis gulped.

"Could it be, that rumor, circulating among students..."

"Yes, that rumor is true..."

Fianna nodded firmly.

"Just now, we were here to perform the ritual for summoning this spirit—"

===Part 4===

A bit of moonlight shot in through the window that was covered by ivy vines and brambles.

Sitting some distance away, Kamito watched as Fianna made preparations for the ritual.

"I-It is just a silly rumor regardless. A spirit capable of granting wishes, pish posh—"

"You can go back alone if you're afraid."

"H-Hmph... I shall confirm the veracity of the rumor at least."

Ellis glared back in response to Claire's taunt. Ellis was taking part under the pretext that a member of the Sylphid Knights needed to be present to supervise the ritual, but in reality, she must be quite interested too.

(...No matter what, it is a spirit able to grant people's wishes, after all.)

Fianna arranged stones neatly on the floor then looked at the grimoire.

"Looks like I need to put a pot here..."

"I have never heard of any magic ritual that requires a pot to carry out."

"Neither have I."

Thud, Fianna placed a pot filled with water onto the arranged stones. This earthenware pot had been taken from the mansion's underground storage, an enchanted artifact with a sealed spirit that finally came in handy.

Claire produced a flame from her hand and lit a fire for the pot.

"...Heat the pot with fire then put in kelp, it says."

Fianna confirmed the ritual's sequence then covered the pot with the lid. Next—

"Could this be the mystery hotpot ritual?"

By the time anyone noticed, Est had taken human form and spoken.

"You've heard of it, Est?"

Est nodded expressionlessly.

"The mystery hotpot ritual is a showdown between elementalists, sharing roots with the Blade Dance tournament. Many an elementalist has fallen in attempts to take on this trial—"

"I-Is it that dangerous a ritual...?"

"Now is your last chance to flee."

Claire smiled fearlessly.

"L-Like anyone is going to flee!"

"I actually feel like running away... But—"

Kamito shrugged.

"Hey Claire—"

"...?"

"Can that pot spirit grant any kind of wish?"

"Yes, of course. But a wish on the level of the Elemental Lords would be impossible—"

"I see..."

Kamito looked at the flickering flames.

(...If I'm lucky, I might be able to find out information about Restia.)

Fianna placed both hands above the pot and solemnly started the ritual incantation.

"—"

"—Darkness summoned, grant us the trial here, alternate dimensional portal, hereby open!"

Instantly, the earthenware pot gave off intense white light, blotting out their vision.

Fianna slowly removed the lid.

Then she exhaled, blowing away the rising steam.

"It appears to have succeeded."

Fianna smiled with satisfaction.

"What is this?"

Looking at the pot's contents, Claire raised an eyebrow and asked.

Inside the pot was an unknown black soup, bubbling and seething.

"The Gate has been opened. Right now, the bottom of this pot is linked to Astral Zero."

"Take turns to eat the ingredients in the pot—"

Rinslet spoke softly.

"The one who remains standing to the very end shall earn the privilege to have an audience with the pot spirit."

Claire nodded nervously.

"...Who'll start?"

Kamito looked at everyone.

"Th-Then I shall begin!"

"Do your best, milady!"

When Rinslet volunteered, Carol cheered for her.

"Hoo—"

Rinslet reached out with chopsticks, plunging them into the soup without hesitation.

...What the chopsticks fished out was a black object that was in the process of melting.

"...W-What is this?"

Rinslet tilted her face, staring at it.

"H-Hurry and eat it—"

Ahm.

Urged by Claire, Rinslet placed the black object into her mouth.

"So sweet... This is chocolate!"

"Looks like the first attempt was quite a lucky strike—"

Fianna shrugged.

"Th-Then I'll go next—Hah!"

Claire swiftly stuck her chopsticks into the pot and stirred the bubbling soup.

"...H-Huh?"

The ingredient she had picked up seemed to have gotten caught somewhere.

"What's wrong?"

"I-I can't lift it..."

Claire pulled hard to haul the object up.

Then—

"...Here!"

The instant she lifted her chopsticks, it appeared before her eyes.

...A gigantic lobster, thirty centimeters in length.

"...H-Hwah!"

"E-Ellis!?"

Ellis screamed adorably and hugged Kamito tightly.

"...W-What a scary face!"

"Hold on, Ellis!"

"What is the meaning of such unruly behavior!?"

"So unfair, I want to too—"

"...Hwah, g-get that thing away!"

===Part 5===

...However, the likes of chocolate and shrimp could not even be considered a prelude to the terrifying mystery hotpot ritual.

The brutality of the mystery hotpot battle gradually increased.

Ellis forced herself to swallow the melting cream puff in her mouth while Kamito gulped down a chocolate parfait.

"...Urgh, guh, guhguh..."

"K-Kamito, are you alright?"

Seeing Kamito turning pale, Ellis asked in worry.

"Y-Yeah... Th-This kind of thing... I'm used to it... C-Cough..."

"Your voice is trembling..."

When he was a child, Kamito had gone through harsh training at the Instructional School. Shoving all kinds of things into his mouth to survive no matter what, Kamito had acquired the skill of suppressing his sense of taste through self-hypnosis.

(H-However, this is totally...)

...Holding chopsticks, his fingers were trembling. His brain was resisting on a biological level against the fact that he ate a parfait.

"W-Water... Got any water...?"

"Kamito-kun, you get disqualified if you drink water."

Fianna warned.

Incidentally, as the princess maiden presiding over the ritual, Fianna was not a participant.

...Still, it looked like she was the only one enjoying herself. Was it his imagination?

"W-What a harsh ritual..."

"Kamito, does your stomach hurt?"

Est stroked Kamito's back while he laid down on the floor.

"I-It is my turn again..."

Rinslet extended her chopsticks and reached into the pot.

...But what she fished out was a ragged piece of paper.

The writing on the paper seemed to be spirit script.

"...What is this?"

"Hold on, let me look it up—"

Fianna flipped through the grimoire.

"Hmm... Found it, this is the Double Card."

"Double Card?"

Getting a bad feeling, Rinslet grimaced and asked.

"Yes, you have to eat two portions at once."

"W-What, that is going way too far!"

"Next ingredients are salmon roe and sea urchin..."

Floating up from the bottom of the mystery hotpot were salmon roe encrusted with salt crystals and squishy sea urchin flesh.

"M-Milady, this combination is definitely another lucky hit."

"...If only this was not a hotpot."

Rinslet replied with a lamenting look—

Closing her eyes, she swallowed hard.

"...Ugh, ugugu~"

"Milady, a-are you okay, milady!?"

Holding her throat, Rinslet gurgled while rolling on the floor.

"Now Claire, your turn next."

"I-I know, okay..."

Claire's expression was stiff with a fearful look. She reached into the pot with her chopsticks.

"...? It's another card."

"That's the Skip Card. Skipping over the next person, it is now Kamito-kun's turn."

"Y-You must be kidding me..."

"Kamito, you know you can give up, right?"

"...Gah, I know that. I'll take the plunge—Huh? Another card."

"That one is Reverse, so the sequence goes backwards now."

"...Meaning that it's Ellis' turn."

"...K-Kamito, look what you did!"

Ellis tearfully protested.

"S-Sorry..."

Hence, it was Ellis' turn.

What she fished out of the pot was a piece of fried chicken.

"Ellis, this one is definitely a lucky hit!"

"Yes, the fried chicken's oil protects it from absorbing the soup. You are so fortunate."

"I-I see..."

...It looked like everyone's senses had numbed somewhat.

===Part 6===

...The nightmarish mystery hotpot battle raged on.

"Gah, chocolate cake, this is gonna turn my stomach..." "I-Is marimo algae actually edible?" "Iyahhhh, I don't want to eat locust boiled in soy sauce!" "Hya!

The young ladies were rolling on the floor as though suffocating, almost like a scene with piles of corpses.

Hence, in the fourteenth round... The first competitor dropped out.

"...Sorry, Carol. I cannot... Cough, cough..."

Rinslet had eaten a crepe soggy with black soup.

"Milady, pull yourself together, milady!"

"...Carol, I leave... Mireille, in your hands..."

"Miladyyyyyyyyy!"

Carol's cries fell on deaf ears. Rinslet collapsed and lost consciousness.

"Your courage was commendable, Rinslet Laurenfrost."

"...Yes, I won't forget your deeds."

Claire spoke to the unmoving Rinslet and reached into the pot.

"Ugh, gugu, uhhhh... guh..."

Claire pinched her nose in suffering and ate the pickled squid... How should one describe it? This was a tragic expression of martyrdom that no young lady would want any outsider to witness.

Even so, the seething and bubbling soup of hell was not something that anyone could fathom.

"I guess it's my turn..."

What Kamito fished out was—

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

The "ingredient" he had picked up was something dripping with black soup.

...This was a kneesock, totally saturated with mystery hotpot soup.

"...Hell if anyone can eat this!"

Kamito reflexively fired a protest at Fianna.

"In this mystery hotpot, even inedible things can appear."

"Gah, for real...?"

Kamito stared at the steaming kneesock.

...Its material was likely silk. Silk came from a silkworm's threads, a type of protein. Since it had been cooked for so long, Kamito supposed it should have softened somewhat.

Indeed, it was not something that would disagree with the digestive system, not something totally inedible... Maybe.

(...I...I have to ask about Restia...!)

Kamito resolved himself and closed his eyes.

Then he bit into this kneesock of unknown origin.

"K-Kamito...!" "H-He is seriously eating it!" "Kamito so perverted...!"

Ellis, Claire, followed by Est stared wide-eyed in shock.

"Ugh, gugu, guguguguguguu...!"

...Naturally, Kamito choked.

"Kamito-kun!" "Wait, Kamito!" "Don't force yourself, Kamito!"

"Guh... I-I'm dying...!"

With the kneesock stuck in his throat, Kamito's consciousness faded away.

(...Fufu, how foolish of you, Kamito. I can't believe you are dying in such a place.)

(...Yeah, I... am a fool, seriously...)

Seeing Restia with a gentle smile, Kamito began to see his life flash before his eyes.

...Then he lost consciousness.

===Part 7===

"Finally, it is a duel between me and you, Ellis Fahrengart—"

"Upon my honor as a knight, I shall not lose, Claire Rouge—"

Thus, the final battle began.

Right now, the only people active in the room were Claire and Ellis, with Fianna presiding over the ritual. (As a side note, Est had turned back into a sword the moment Kamito collapsed, whereas Carol had taken the unconscious Rinslet back to the Academy.)

The mystery hotpot's thick soup was bubbling like lava from hell, giving off an evil aura.

"...Before the final showdown, I have a question for you."

Ellis spoke quietly.

"What is it?"

"Claire, what is your wish?"

"...U-Umm, umm..."

Claire glanced at the massive bust belonging to Ellis, who was sitting in front of her—

"...S-Someone like you can never understand... It's a secret."

Then she mournfully turned her gaze away.

"Is that so...?"

"And yours?"

Ellis looked at Kamito, collapsed on the floor.

"I-I was thinking, spending a day with Kamito, a date... It is a s-secret, okay...!"

Finally she yelled, blushing intensely.

"So unfair, you clearly asked me first—"

"D-Didn't you refuse, saying it was a secret too!?"

"Now now, if you two don't hurry up, the time limit will be over."

"G-Got it... Then it's my turn next... Here goes!"

Urged by Fianna, Claire reached into the pot with her chopsticks again.

What Claire picked up was a mass of pure black... As a start, all ingredients in the mystery hotpot would acquire a layer of pitch-blackness from the soup, but this was even blacker than that.

"I don't quite get what this is but... Ahm!"

Claire placed the black mass into her mouth in one go.

"...!"

Then she froze with that expression.

"W-What is the matter, Claire?"

"This is, this is a piece of... charcoal!"

Exhaling a puff of black smoke, Claire collapsed on the floor.

"Why do I get the feeling that she got what she deserved...?"

Fianna shrugged.

"...You win, Ellis... Con... grats..."

Delivering these words with a smile, Claire collapsed completely and stopped moving.

"Claire..."

"This is no time to be mired in sadness, Ellis. Your turn—"

"Yes, I know—"

Ellis put on a serious expression. Once all the other competitors had dropped out, the wish-granting spirit of the pot could be summoned by drinking the final component, the thick black soup.

"Kamito, Claire, Rinslet... I will not allow your sacrifices to go to waste!"

Ellis picked up the pot and began to drink the thick and oily soup in one breath.

"Ugh, gurgle... guh... ughhhh....!"

...This thick soup was the result of mixing parfait, nattō, cream puff, pickled squid, charcoal, kneesocks, etc. The taste had far surpassed the realm of human cognition and was practically the embodiment of the concept of "disgusting" cooked in a pot.

"Nngu, gu... nn... gu..."

Ellis forced the viscous pitch-black soup down her throat and into her stomach.

"I-I drank it... all..."

—At that very moment, the earthenware pot before her suddenly glowed intensely.

"W-What is going on...?"

"The spirit of the pot is about to appear!"

Fianna cried out.

Then ''a certain figure'' appeared from the pot.

"...Y-You!?"

===Part 8===

"...So this is what is currently going on?"

...Three minutes later, Kamito finally regained consciousness and remarked with narrowed eyes.

"Hoo, I can't believe you people actually attempted that mystery hotpot ritual."

In front of the emptied earthenware pot, the beauty with long gray hair smiled with delight.

Indeed, what had appeared from the pot was not some kind of wish-granting spirit—

Instead, it was the headmistress, Greyworth.

"Headmistress, I am unsure what is going on either... What on earth—"

Ellis asked with a puzzled look.

Greyworth glanced at the grimoire that Fianna was holdiing—

"This sure brings back memories. It was decades ago when I created this mystery hotpot ritual—"

"You created this ritual, Headmistress?"

Fianna cocked her head and asked with widened eyes.

"It was a long time ago. Back then, Areishia Spirit Academy did not have the Sylphid Knights established so the school was quite disorderly. Duels between nobles happened on a daily basis—"

With her hand on the pot, Greyworth partially closed her eyes in reminiscence.

"With battles going on, day in and day out, many students got roped in and were injured. Judging it to be a serious situation, the Ordesia council decided that certain measures must be taken, namely—"

"This mystery hotpot ritual, right...?"

"—Indeed. Back then, I had not become the headmistress yet."

Greyworht nodded. Instead of fighting directly using spirits, elementalists would settle their conflicts through this mystery hotpot battle. This simple method of battle, which had been used since ancient times, was supported by the majority of students, thus bringing an end to many disputes without causing collateral damage.

"So there is this kind of history behind the mystery hotpot ritual."

Ellis nodded approvingly.

"Then the rumor about the spirit in the pot is—"

"Naturally, that kind of thing doesn't exist—"

Greyworth shook her head calmly.

"However, there was a system where the Academy would reward victors of large-scale mystery hotpot battles. Raising their in-school ranking, pardons from punishment, stuff like that. I suppose that rumor probably started circulating among students after this system was abolished, gradually taking on the current form."

What had summoned Greyworth from the pot was the teleportation spell she had set up for rewarding winners. Most likely, she had forgotten to erase the Transfer magic seal and left it there.

"...Oh well, and here I was thinking it could be true."

Kamito slumped his shoulders in disappointment.

"But in a certain sense, the rumor is true—"

"What do you mean?"

Ellis asked the smirking witch.

"If you possess the physical endurance and mental strength to emerge victorious from the harsh mystery hotpot battle, as well as the determination to realize your wish, then the vast majority of wishes will come true in the end, right? That's the meaning."

"What twisted logic..."

Kamito retorted with narrowed eyes... However, she did have a good point. Ultimately, what granted wishes was human willpower, a principle that could not be any simpler.

"I see now. What grants wishes is human willpower huh..."

The straightforward Ellis was moved and recorded these words in her notebook.

"But this mystery hotpot ritual was quickly abolished in the first place. That was after the founding of the Sylphid Knights, thus creating defenders of order in the Academy..."

"I see..."

"I'm so glad that this horrifying system is gone—"

Glancing at Claire who was still collapsed unconscious on the floor, Kamito sighed.

"...Oh well, now that the truth of the rumor is cleared up, the mission of the Knights is accomplished."

"Yes. Let us return to the Academy to prepare a report. And this is to prevent further casualties from appearing ever again."

Ellis stood up and smashed the pot using wind magic.

"...By the way, in the end, what wish did you make, Ellis?"

"...~U-Umm... It is a secret, okay!"

Ellis cried out, blushing intensely.

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Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:BR SS Extra.4

2016-05-09T17:49:45Z

130.212.95.229:

==Hunting the Legendary Giant Bust Spirit!==
[[image:STnBD_BR_Extra.4.jpg|thumb]]

===Part 1===

It was the hour of dusk when the Academy's gates were closed and the sun had set.

Inside a room at the Raven Class dorm, the aroma of stew wafted in the air.

"Fufu, I am quite confident in this stew I made for tonight."

"I can't wait, milady♪"

This was Rinslet's room on the second floor of the dorm. Dressed in an apron, Rinslet was humming a melody while preparing stew for the evening. Meanwhile, Carol was setting the table.

This full pot of beef stew was clearly more than the two of them could finish on their own. Their intention was to share with the occupants of Claire's room in the same dorm.

"However, I think Kamito-san prefers a lighter flavor, doesn't he?"

Tasting the stew, Rinslet murmured to herself.

"As long as it's made by you, milady, it'll be tasty no matter what♪"

"Seriously, Carol, your opinion is useless as a reference."

Just as Rinslet sighed, in that very moment—

"M-M-Milady!"

Carol suddenly screamed.

"What is it!?"

Rinslet instantly turned to face the room—

A giant black shadow was pressed against the outside of the window, looking into the room.

"...Tsk, a suspicious knave!"

Saying that, Rinslet chanted spirit magic and shot a blade of ice from her hand.

The blade broke the window glass and was about to make a direct hit on the shadow outside the window—

"Vanished!?"

"M-Milady—Kyah!"

"Carol!"

The figure had somehow crept behind Carol after disappearing suddenly.

"...Tsk, Fenrir!"

Simultaneous with Rinslet's summon, a white wolf appeared out of thin air, cloaked in a howling blizzard.

Without needing orders, Fenrir pounced on the figure.

Instantly, the shadow released Carol and ducked down, dodging Fenrir's slashing claws, then changed targets to rush at Rinslet.

(—To think that Fenrir's attack was dodged!?)

She reacted with a swift push of her palm, releasing spirit magic—but was half a second too late.

The shadow silently moved along the floor and snared the tip of Rinslet's foot.

"Guh... W-What are you doing...? Huahhhhhhh!!"

"Milady!"

Moving along her leg, the eerie shadow entangled her body.

Feeling like her entire body was getting groped, Rinslet fell into panic.

At this moment, the room's door was violently flung open.

"What happened!?" "What's going on, Rinslet!?"

Hearing the commotion, Kamito and Claire burst into the room side by side.

"...You two... It is, dangerous here...!"

Constricted by the shadow, Rinslet panted.

However the shadow left Rinslet—

And entered a stance as though glaring at the two newcomers.

"What is this thing!?" "Wait, it looks very dangerous!"

As Kamito drew the Demon Slayer, Claire warned.

The shadow paused momentarily then vanished with a whoosh as though melding into the air.

"...W-What was that thing?"

Claire asked with her head tilted in puzzlement.

"Are you okay, Rinslet?"

Kamito ran over to Rinslet who was collapsed on the floor.

"Y-Yes... I suppose I am fine..."

Rinslet shuddered and stood up.

She looked unharmed in appearance—

"...M-Milady!"

However, Carol screamed with her face all pale.

Rinslet looked puzzled when suddenly, Claire pointed straight at Rinslet.

"Rinslet, y-y-your..."

"My what? What is the matter?"

"Your ch-chest..."

"...Chest?"

Still with her eyebrows raised in puzzlement, Rinslet looked down at her own chest.

...Then she noticed.

"W-W-W-What... What is the meaning of this...!?"

She noticed the fact that her bust had become as flat as a board.

===Part 2===

"I see, so you too—"

"Us too?"

Confronted with Ellis' mysterious demeanor, the trio of Kamito, Claire and Rinslet responded with a questioning look.

—After the earlier incident, Kamito and Claire had taken the stunned Rinslet to Ellis' room at the Weasel Class dorm. After all, ordinary students were obliged to report all incidents to the Sylphid Knights if anything happened in the Academy.

Ellis sighed and took out a file from a bookshelf in her room. She opened the cover, revealing the names of several students recorded there.

"...This is?"

"A list of student victims who had suffered the same fate over the past few weeks."

"Suffered the same fate... Could it be that spirit?"

Responding to Claire's surprise, Ellis nodded firmly.

"Indeed. Scattory Rin of Owl Class, Alca Siena of Grizzly Class, followed by Resta Maia of Weasel Class. All of them had their ''bosoms stolen'' by that spirit."

"...!"

Kamito, Claire and Rinslet exchanged looks with one another.

"A spirit that steals bosoms, are you telling me that such a being exists..."

Rinslet murmured quietly while staring at her chest with a mournful expression. Previously buxom, her chest was now as flat as the cutting board she used regularly in the kitchen.

"Wait, why were we kept in the dark when something like this is happening!?"

"Oh, the Knights decided not to publicize this incident—"

"Why!?"

"Because the victims pleaded so. No one wants others to know that they had lost their bosom. Right now, they are using pads to get through their days in the Academy."

"...I can sympathize."

"On the other hand, I'm not quite satisfied..."

Looking at her chest that was plenty pitiful even without a spirit's theft, Claire bit her lip hard.

"Then are there any clues to the culprit's identity?"

"Yes, it is probably..."

Ellis whispered with a mysterious look.

"—The legendary giant bust spirit."

"The legendary—" "Giant bust—" "Spirit—"

The trio gulped.

"I believed it to be merely a legend, who would have thought—"

"Claire, you've heard of it?"

Kamito instantly turned to her and asked. Claire nodded.

"Yes. Rumors of it has been circulating in the Academy earlier. The spirit absorbs busts from many girls, transferring it to its contractor. I've searched for it many times in the forest before."

"I can't believe you've done something so lame for real..."

"Sh-Shut up... But in the end, I never saw any legendary giant bust spirit. Dismissing it as just a legend, I soon forgot about it..."

"—But the giant bust spirit definitely exists."

Ellis said seriously.

"Since there is a spirit that steals other people's bosoms, there is no choice but to reconsider the existence of the giant bust spirit."

"...I've never even heard of such a surreal spirit."

Kamito quipped quietly.

"So, are the Knights going to just ignore this?"

"Recently, there have been plans to assemble a strike force to take down that giant bust spirit, but well—"

Faced with Claire's questioning, Ellis answered in embarrassment.

"The Sylphid Knights lost substantial manpower during the assault incident several days earlier. Also, even though these girls were attacked, their bosoms merely shrank, so it is not like it is that serious—"

"That is neither here nor there!"

Rinslet slammed the table hard.

"I-Is that so? The likes of a heavy bosom, I have always found it quite burdensome—"

"~W-What, that's such a burden of luxury!!"

Claire protested tearfully.

"Very well, I shall go alone to exterminate that so-called giant bust spirit."

Rinslet stood up in a huff and walked to the door.

"Wait up, it's too dangerous to enter the depths of the Spirit Forest alone!"

"What was stolen must be taken back. This is a precept of the Laurenfrost family."

"Wait up, Rinslet, I'm asking you to wait!"

Claire tried to call back Rinslet who had stepped into the corridor.

"Stopping me is futile, Claire Rouge."

"I'm not stopping you. I just want to go with you."

"This is a personal matter of my own."

"I-It's not like I'm worried about you, but I'm just curious about this legendary giant bust spirit."

Claire turned her gaze away shyly.

"...Hmph. Make sure you do not get in my way."

"I'll help too."

Kamito walked over to the two of them.

"Even Kamito-san too..."

"I'm a guy so there's no worry of getting attacked by the giant bust spirit. The same goes for Claire, there's nothing to steal, so we're indispensable comrades for taking down the giant bust spirit."

"Well said... Wait, what did you say!? Are you looking for a death sentence!?"

"...Mistake! That was a mistake! The whip! Put the whip away first!"

===Part 3===

—Half an hour later, the trio finished their preparations for forest adventuring and entered the Spirit Forest.

The depths of the Spirit Forest was a dark and terrifying place. Every year, there were rumors of students getting lost and going missing here.

Holding a torch, Claire walked in the front.

"Come to think of it, there was one time when I entered the Abyssal Forest with Claire and even got lost."

"...S-Something like that happened?"

"Claire hugged me tightly and broke into tears."

"...Sh-Shut up! It's way back in the past!

Claire went bright red and yelled.

"But by the way, is this really the right direction?"

While staying vigilant, Kamito asked.

"Sightings of the giant bust spirit were essentially concentrated on the north side of the forest. Also, the spirit that stole Rinslet's bosom also fled in this direction—"

"Sightings are not that reliable, right? It's not like we can rule out the possibility that they were imagining things."

"It's not like we have other options. This is all we can do. Then—"

Claire turned around and looked at Rinslet's ''swaying'' bosom.

"A bit of a trap here..."

"Will something like that really bait the spirit?"

Rinslet looked skeptical. Her chest was even bigger than before it had been absorbed. Naturally, this was not her real bust.

Obtained by Claire, these were the fake breasts that Fianna kept hidden in her desk.

"Don't worry. These pads are on a completely different level compared to the ones sold in ordinary shops."

The princess' fake breasts were a type of enchanted artifact, a masterpiece of spirit engineering. With the power of a water spirit sealed inside them, these pads were the best choice for simulating the real thing. Even when examined up close, it looked no different from a real bosom. Using these fake breasts as bait, that giant bust spirit would surely appear. That was the plan that Claire had devised.

"This is definitely well-made..."

Squeezing her fake breasts, Rinslet murmured quietly with unease.

...By the time they realized they were lost, it was already several hours later.

===Part 4===

Kamito, Claire and Rinslet kept going in circles inside the forest.

Walking around in the Spirit Forest late at night was very dangerous even for experienced elementalists. Once lost, it was very difficult to find one's way back.

"...This isn't the time to be looking for that giant bust spirit."

"Yes, let us wait until dawn, get out and come back prepared."

Walking in this kind of darkness would only be a futile waste of energy. The three of of them took a break by the side of a large lake in the depths of the forest with the intention of waiting for dawn.

Since lighting a fire could attract nearby spirits, all they could eat were canned peaches.

"Why only canned peaches..." "I am shivering with cold."

"Sh-Shut up! You're not eating anything if you two complain anymore!"

With her mouth stuffed with peaches, Claire snarled back.

After eating, Claire slowly stood up and walked towards the lake.

"...Where are you going?"

"Ritual purification. If we run into the giant bust spirit, I have to confront it while fully prepared."

"I shall join you."

"Okay. Then I'll guard from here."

Kamito picked up the Demon Slayer with both hands and crouched behind some trees.

"Got that, Kamito? I'll turn you into charcoal if you peep~"

"...I got it, okay?"

"He is guarding to avoid peeping, right?"

"What was that?"

"Nothing..."

===Part 5===

...Splash. The sound of water was heard in the quiet forest.

With their uniforms hanging on branches, the two girls were in their underwear.

"In the end, they must have made a mistake about the giant bust spirit being in this vicinity..."

Having removed her fake breasts, Rinslet looked at her pitifully flat chest and sighed.

However, Claire shook her head.

"No, the giant bust spirit must be around. We have to catch it for sure!"

Claire clenched both fists and declared firmly, gazing at the sky.

Rinslet cocked her head in puzzlement.

"...Why are you so fired up to do something for my sake?"

"Huh?"

"Because it is not like it was your bosom that was stolen—"

She looked at Claire's chest.

"If the people around you got flatter, doesn't that make your chest relatively bigger?"

"Even if I become relatively bigger, that doesn't mean much."

Claire shrugged then bent down slightly—

"If we catch the spirit of big busts, even I might get slightly bigger... Also, it counts as returning your favor."

"My favor?"

"It's in the past, though you probably forgot it—"

With her legs submerged in the lake water, Claire thought back to that day three years ago.

===Part 6===

—Three years ago, at the Eluore Prep School.

"Haha! This fire will be put out if we pour water on it, right?"

Some upper-year girls were crouching on the ground, using a stick to poke a salamander spirit.

This spirit was very weak and its flames felt like they were going to disappear any moment.

"Stop that! Do not bully Mr. Spirit!"

Claire tackled the girl who was holding the stick.

"Ah—"

The salamander spirit took this opportunity to jump into the bushes and escaped.

"What is this, the Calamity Queen's little sister. Got a problem with that? Huh?"

The senior students surrounded Claire, looking down at her and even started to get physical.

"Ouch, stop it...!"

"Look at her, so full of herself—"

One girl grabbed Claire's ribbon and pulled it up violently.

At that very moment—

Raging wind mixed with ice began to blow around the senior students who were bullying Claire.

"W-What?"

"Hmph, don't you know that bullying the weak would completely tarnish an elementalist's honor?"

Elegantly tossing her voluminous blonde hair, Rinslet appeared. Fenrir's spirit seal on her right hand was glowing.

"Tsk, this is not good. That girl's..." "Hold on, from the Laurenfrost family?"

The senior students fled immediately after seeing Rinslet's face. The Laurenfrost family's mighty reputation and Rinslet's own power were widely known throughout the school. Naturally, no one was stupid enough to make enemies of this young lady.

Rinslet shrugged and looked at Claire.

"You too, seriously. You look nothing like an Elstein daughter at all."

"The name of Elstein exists no longer."

Claire turned her face away.

"Really?"

"Huh?"

"But I know this."

Staring straight into Claire's eyes while she was looking up, Rinslet smiled fearlessly.

"Inside your heart resides the flames of Elstein—"

===Part 7===

"It became bigger, though only just a little..."

Rinslet's voice interrupted Claire's flashback.

"...N-Nothing of that sort!"

Claire wrapped her arms around herself and hid her chest.

"Did you use the bust-enhancing technique I taught you—"

"I tried it out but it didn't work at all!!"

Claire pouted and glared at Rinslet.

"Are you going to use the fraudulent technique you taught me?"

Rinslet shrugged and looked down at her own chest.

"At this rate if we still fail to catch the giant bust spirit, I might very well have to rely on this bust-enhancing technique..."

While whispering mournfully, Rinslet massaged her own chest.

"Wrong, you need to do it like this... Mmm♪"

As though modeling as an example, Claire tried massaging her own chest.

"L-like this... Kyah♪"

"...Mm, hyah♪"

===Part 8===

(...I-I can hear everything from here, jeez.)

Sitting in a tree's shadow, Kamito muttered in his heart.

At that moment, he sensed a presence in the scattering wind.

"...Huh, what's that? Could it be the giant bust spirit?"

Holding the Demon Slayer, Kamito rushed into the depths of the darkness.

"Claire! Rinslet!"

Brushing the bushes apart, he heard shrill voices—

"K-Kamito-san!?" "Hwahhhh, w-what are you looking at, Kamito!?"

Blushing intensely, the two girls screamed.

"...S-Sorry...!"

As Kamito turned his face away, he was greeted with water splashing at him.

"Y-You pervert!" "Kamito-san is so dirty!"

Claire hugged Scarlet to guard her chest.

Meanwhile, Rinslet had put on her fake breasts at some point to hide her real chest.

"...Y-You got me wrong! I sensed something—"

Just as the two girls were raising their eyebrows—

"Rinslet, behind you!"

Kamito cried out. The shadow suddenly appeared behind Rinslet.

"...Th-The giant bust spirit!?"

The shadow nimbly entangled Rinslet from behind and rubbed her chest.

"...Gasp... Ah, kyah♪"

"Bastard, release Rinslet!"

Claire summoned Flametongue, wrapping it around the shadow's neck.

The shadow cried out in anguish and fled into the depths of the forest.

"Chase it down, Kamito!"

"Yeah!"

===Part 9===

The creepy shadow was weaving through the trees.

Its escaping speed was quite fast. Most likely, it had memorized the forest's geography well.

"Fenrir, catch that thing!"

Fenrir roared and slashed with his claws, shattering the trees in his path.

However, the shadow slid through gaps in the attacks as though performing acrobatics, escaping through the bushes.

"Not bad for a mere giant bust spirit. However—"

Claire unleashed Flametongue, sweeping the bushes horizontally.

The bushes were instantly incinerated, exposing the figure of the hiding giant bust spirit.

"Over there!"

Claire swung her whip. Tracing out a red trail, the flames ensnared the jumping shadow.

"Captured!"

"Well done—" "Nice job, Claire!"

Kamito and Rinslet instantly caught up and surrounded the giant bust spirit.

Even when entangled by the whip, the shadow continued to struggle relentlessly.

"Listen here, giant bust spirit, time to give up—"

Suddenly, a gigantic object appeared over the trio's heads.

"...!?"

The trio looked up, only to see...

"W-What!?" "What the heck!?"

''A humongous breast had appeared''.

A breast. Quivering, wobbling, and translucent, the giant breast was hovering in the night sky.

...More than surreal, this scene was absolutely stupid.

"...W-What the heck is this?"

"E-Even if you ask me... Maybe a breast monster?"

Staring blankly at the sky, Claire did not try to hide her confusion. The flying giant breast was accompanied by spinning shadows like the one that had attacked Rinslet.

"What a surprise. Is that the main body of the giant bust spirit?"

Just as Kamito spoke, in that instant...

The giant breast flying in the air, its entire body(?) shuddered with a boing♪

"Incoming!"

Claire warned the group. At the same time, the shadows surrounding the giant breast attacked them.

"Turn into charcoal!"

The flaming whip slashed through the air, slicing shadows apart. However, out from the bifurcated shadows sprouted slender tentacles to envelop Claire.

"...Hyah!"

"Claire! You bastard—!"

Kamito instantly slashed the shadows with his sword. Sliced by the Demon Slayer, the shadows literally vanished as a puff of smoke in the air.

"Kamito, th-thanks..."

"Don't lower your guard. Despite looking like that, its probably quite a high-ranked spirit—"

"Claire, your chest—is your chest okay!?"

"Yes, I am fine..."

Claire looked down at her chest and smiled fearlessly.

"As suspected, my chest is already too small to be absorbed..."

"That's sad in its own way..."

"Shut up... Let's go, scorching ball of conflagration!"

As though venting her anger, Claire released a Fireball at the main body of the giant bust spirit.

Explosion. Hovering in midair, the translucent giant breast was engulfed by blazing flames.

"I did it!"

"—No, it is not over yet!"

Rinslet cried out.

At the same time, the unscathed giant breast's quivering form appeared from the dissipating storm of the explosion.

"No way! It was a direct hit from a Fireball!"

"It must have the power to neutralize a flat chest's attack!"

"What is with this thing... And what the heck are you talking about!?"

Just as Claire griped, the giant bust spirit grew even bigger and smashed down from above.

"Kyahhhh!"

Directly underneath, Claire was struck squarely.

"Claire!" "Watch out, Rinslet!"

Kamito caught Rinslet's arm and pulled her from under there.

The giant bust spirit bounced with a boing♪ and flew into the sky again.

"How dare you do that to Claire... Freezing fangs of ice, go forth and pierce—Freezing Arrow!"

Rinslet swiftly fired an arrow of ice.

However, the arrow bounced off the giant breast completely.

"Even ice is not working!?"

"Rinslet, below you!"

Hearing Kamito's warning, Rinslet looked down. Without them noticing, one of the spirit's shadows was hiding underfoot, trying to climb towards Rinslet's chest.

"...Kyahhhh!"

"—Calm down, ''abandon the breasts''!"

"...!"

Listening to Kamito, Rinslet grabbed the fake breasts and tossed them away.

Crafted using a water spirit's power, the pads bounced elastically on the forest floor.

Perhaps due to the traits of the giant bust spirit, the shadow entangling Rinslet instantly released her and went to chase the pads.

"Hoo, what a life steeped in sin—"

Rinslet fired another arrow of ice at the sky.

Naturally, she knew it would be ineffective against the giant bust spirit. She was aiming somwhere else.

"Kamito-san, now!"

"Yeah—!"

The trails of countless arrows formed a network in the air like a spider's web woven between the trees. On top of that web, Kamito sprinted.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Kamito swung the Demon Slayer.

===Part 10===

"Now you are captured, giant bust spirit!"

"Give up all resistance, you enemy of young maidens!"

Standing arms akimbo, Rinslet and Claire looked down at the giant bust spirit at their feet.

Kamito had not cut down the giant bust spirit directly. There was no guarantee that killing it would return the stolen bosoms. It was totally possible that the girls' breasts would not return had they attacked without thinking.

Tied up securely by Claire's whip, the giant bust spirit wobbled and struggled like mad, looking like a large slab of boneless ham. It was quite surreal.

"Looks like it's begging for mercy..."

"Hmm, if you don't want to turn to charcoal, hurry up and return everyone's breasts—"

—At that very moment...

'O little lady...'

"...Huh?"

Hearing the voice echoing in the forest, Claire entered a stance swiftly.

'O little lady, wouldst thou... wouldst thou wish for a bosom?''

"...Wh...at, this thing, this thing just spoke!"

Claire stared wide-eyed in surprise. The source of the voice could very well be the slab of boneless ham—no, the giant bust spirit—at her feet.

"But this thing keeps wobbling!"

"How disgusting..."

The two girls reflexively recoiled away from the giant bust spirit and hid behind Kamito's back.

'Answer me—Dost thou wish for a bountiful bust?'

"Bountiful bosom... W-What? What is the meaning of this?"

'I am the spirit ruling over giant busts. If thou wert to release me, I shall bestow upon thee—'

As the giant bust spirit spoke—

Claire reflexively gulped.

"M-Meaning that, y-you'll give me a giant bust?"

'...Precisely. Regardless of shape or size, conferring upon thee the bust of thy dreams is precisely mine authority. Dost thou desire it? The ideal bust—'

"Shape and size of my dreams—"

Claire instantly blushed intensely.

"Whatever I want, just like that...!"

"Hold on, Claire, are you alright!?" "It's totally a trap..."

Rinslet spoke in somewhat of a panic whereas Kamito retorted calmly with his eyes narrowed.

"I-I know okay... From the start, I saw through the lies this thing told to beg for mercy..."

'It seemeth that thou believest not. Well then, I shall open thy eyes and allow thee a glimpse of mine authority—'

The giant bust spirit suddenly shuddered, its entire body flashing.

"W-What!?"

In the next instant...

"Hyah!"

Claire's chest expanded with a boing.

"Huahhhh... What is this!?"

The expanding chest had blown away her uniform's buttons, making her white underwear visible.

Giant breasts as big as cantaloupes, looking like they were about to burst out from inside her underwear.

"N-No way... These are my breasts?"

Instantly buxom, Claire looked at her chest with disbelief.

"Amazing. They're so big, and, so heavy..."

Claire's face instantly lit up.

'Having absorbed countless breasts, a task of this level would not be beyond me—'

"...H-Hey, Claire?"

Kamito called out her name with worry.

"But—"

Claire whispered.

"These breasts were stolen from Rinslet and the girls of the Academy—"

'...So what?'

Claire quietly shook her head.

"These breasts belong to everyone. I cannot accept them—"

Once again, she infused power into the whip that was tying up the giant bust spirit.

"Claire...!"

Rinslet's expression instantly cheered up.

"I don't want giant boobs like this. You'd better return all the bosoms you've stolen."

'...Tsk, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire a giant bust. Forsaking this chance, art thou truly certain?'

"Yes, I do this upon an Elstein daughter's honor—"

'...'

"..."

Claire and the giant bust spirit stared at each other for a while.

'...'Tis my defeat, it seemeth.'

Thus the giant bust spirit stopped resisting and vanished into thin air.

"...M-My bust, my bust has returned!"

"Thank goodness."

Seeing Rinslet's chest back to normal, Claire smiled.

===Part 11===

A few days later...

Rinslet paid a visit to Claire's room in the same dorm.

"Claire, open up please."

"What's the matter, Rinslet?"

Claire opened the door with a look of surprise. Rinslet was holding a small box under her arm while fidgeting with the ends of her hair.

"U-Umm, a gift of appreciation for last time, I suppose..."

She stammered.

"It's not like it was anything major requiring a gift. On the other hand, I guess I've returned your favor..."

"...? Like I asked before, what is this matter about a favor?"

Rinslet raised an eyebrow.

"This was not easy to obtain but I bought it from a purveyor of magic items."

Saying that, she opened the box she was carrying under her arm and handed it to Claire.

"W-What is this?"

Claire was rendered speechless by the contents of the box.

—It was underwear for the chest. A bra.

Made of top-quality silk, it was covered with adorable lace embroidery. Looking like ordinary underwear at first glance, the only strange thing was the tiny jewel adorning the front tip.

Rather than an ordinary jewel for decoration, it was a spirit crystal of the highest class.

"I heard that simply wearing this will increase the size of your bust."

"Huh?"

"Namely, your bust will grow big just by wearing this when you sleep..."

"N-No way... This kind of thing is too cheating!"

"Indeed, though its effectiveness is currently unknown. However, there is value in testing it out, no?"

"B-But even without using this, I can still..."

Claire coughed as a diversion.

"However... I guess I'll accept it for now. Thanks."

Claire accepted the spirit crystal-equipped underwear.

"Wait, remember to activate the spirit crystal for it to work."

"Yeah, I'm just going to test it out. In any case, how could something like this be effective—"

===Part 12===

That night, inside the Raven Class dorm, strange sounds and screaming could be heard the entire night.

"...W-What is this, can't stop... Nnnn, hyah, hyahhhhhhhh♪"

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Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:BR SS Extra.2

2016-05-09T17:49:18Z

130.212.95.229:

==Est Looking After the Sick==
[[image:STnBD_BR_Extra.2.jpg|thumb]]

===Part 1===

"...Ugh, hmm... Cough... Cough..."

One day, when Kamito woke in bed and opened his eyes, his body felt as heavy as lead.

That being said, the usual cause of this sensation, Est, was not responsible this time.

His entire body felt extremely sluggish, unable to even muster the strength to crawl out of bed.

Feeling like his throat was pricked by needles, Kamito coughed violently. He also seemed to have a fever.

"What the heck?"

Three days had already passed since the mission at the mining town. With Fianna's assistance, Kamito's team had defeated Jio Inzagi. After successfully applying a seal to the strategic-class militarized spirit, they had returned to the Academy.

Although nothing special happened when they first got back, it looked like Kamito had caught a flu.

===Part 2===

"...It's really weird for an elementalist to catch a flu!"

Bringing a basin of water with a towel, Claire remarked in surprise.

"It surprised me too! This has never happened to me at all... Cough... Cough."

Kamito coughed while answering.

Capable of refining divine power within themselves, elementalists were completely free of ordinary diseases. As for why Kamito had caught a flu, it was probably because he had depleted too much of his stamina. He really needed to rein in his divine power consumption.

"Well... I think you pushed yourself too far this time."

Claire murmured while wringing water out from the soaked towel.

"I guess I still haven't gotten used to using Est."

"...Maybe so."

Kamito's gaze shifted to that sword hanging on the wall at this time—Terminus Est.

During that battle against Jio Inzagi, Kamito had used Est's power to the limit. Perhaps as a result of overusing divine power, his immune system had become weak temporarily.

Est seemed to have consumed a massive amount of her own energy as a sword. Ever since then, she had remained in sword form.

"Well... Looks like you've no choice but to recuperate for a bit. Besides, even spirit magic cannot heal this type of condition."

"Yeah... I guess."

As a side note, although Fianna had diagnosed him, even an expert in healing magic such as her had confirmed that it was nothing more than an ordinary flu. Healing magic used the power of holy spirits to increase natural regeneration. It was very effective against external injuries, but in cases of diseases with unknown origins, it would probably exacerbate uncomfortable symptoms.

Kamito felt the coldness of Claire's hand stroking his cheek gently.

"...You're boiling here... Does this feel cooler?"

"Yeah..."

While placing a wet towel on Kamito's forehead, Claire straightened out the bedsheets while she was at it.

"You seem quite familiar with this. I thought young noblewomen wouldn't do this kind of stuff much."

"Nee-sama had very frail health and I looked after her when we were young. It was because Nee-sama's constitution seemed to always attract bad things for some reason."

"I see..."

A hint of gloom flashed across Claire's eyes due to recalling these past memories.

—However, it was merely for an instant. Claire immediately returned to her usual tone of voice.

"H-Hmm... Now that I've taken the effort to nurse you, this flu or whatever must go away quickly!"

"...Yeah, I'll immediately recover enough to take part in the Blade Dance selection tournament."

"Of course, because you are an important part of the team... Scarlet!"

Claire snapped her fingers to summon the hell cat spirit enveloped in flames.

"I'm going to class now. You keep Kamito warm."

"Meow~♪"

The hell cat spirit meowed adorably then jumped onto the bed, curling herself into a ball next to Kamito's chest.

"...Wow, so warm."

"I'll bring you the notes from today's lectures, so get some proper rest!"

Covering him up gently with the blanket, Claire exited the room.

===Part 3===

A few minutes after Kamito fell asleep...

The sword hanging on the wall suddenly glowed, then disappeared into thin air.

What appeared was a beautiful young girl with dazzling silver-white hair.

Mysterious eyes of violet. Tender and smooth skin reminiscent of milk. Enveloped in faint phosphorescence, she looked adorable, almost like a snow fairy.

The "Demon Slayer"—Terminus Est. She was apparently able to manifest her original form in the human realm at last.

"Hmm, Kami... to, where are you?"

Like a child who had just woken up, Est kept looking around the room.

...Still nude and only wearing kneesocks, she walked over to the side of the bed where Kamito was sleeping.

"...Kamito, are you sleeping?"

Just as Est was about to dive under his covers in her naked state as usual—

Scarlet poked her head out from under the blanket.

"...Hell cat spirit?"

"Meow~?"

"Hell cat spirit will share his bed too?"

"Meow~ ...Meow, meow~ meow~!"

Scarlet shook her head while shaking her body and waving her paw. Although the hell cat spirit could not speak, as fellow high-ranked spirits, they were able to convey rough ideas to each other.

"Kamito got a flu...?"

"Meow~!"

Scarlet nodded vigorously.

Est placed her hand on Kamito's forehead. He seemed to be suffering in his sleep.

"...Urgh, hmm... Est?"

Kamito opened his eyes slightly.

"You woke up?"

"Kamito, is there anything I can help?"

"Oh... I see... C-Cough... Then do you want to head over to the students in the pharmacology department to bring back some nourishing medicine?"

"Medicine...?"

"Yeah, even though spirit magic has no effect, I think a herbalist's medicine might work... cough."

The pharmacology department was located on Areishia Spirit Academy's campus, simply in another building.

Although Est was unable to maintain human form when away from Kamito for extended durations, there should not be any problems at this sort of distance.

"—Understood. I am your sword, Kamito, your wish is my command."

Est nodded expressionlessly then exited the room.

===Part 4===

Thus, because of that...

Est left the Raven Class dormitory and walked over to the pharmacology department somewhere within the vast school grounds.

Although Areishia Spirit Academy was known as a school for cultivating elementalists, there were all kinds of options for graduated students. Only those with excellent talents would become spirit knights directly after graduation. The pharmacology department was a place for carrying the research of potions using spirit theories as the foundation.

When Est entered the pharmacology block...

"Hey, look look, it's the only male elementalist's sword spirit!"

"Wow, so cute♪"

Surrounding students immediately gathered around. As the Demon King of the Night's contracted spirit, Est's popularity had already reached mascot levels in the Academy.

"Miss Spirit, here's some candy for you. I made them during practicum."

"Hey, so unfair! Me too, here's some melon bread for you, eat it quick! Eat it quick!"

"...No reason to refuse."

Accepting these gifts the whole time she was there, Est began to eat.

And it was her eating appearance that kept tugging at the heartstrings of these girls who loved cute things.

"...S-So cute♪" "I wanna take her home!" "Agreed!"

"Ah, where do you think you are touching?"

While Est raised her voice, almost about to be abducted...

"What are you doing there?"

A stern voice rang out.

Ellis, the ponytailed girl dressed in the armor of the Sylphid Knights, made her appearance.

"Oh, Captain, why are you here?"

The girls took their hands off Est.

"I came to get nourishing medicine for Rakka and Reishia who are hospitalized."

Ellis turned her gaze to Est.

"You are Kazehaya Kamito's sword spirit, are you not? What are you doing here?"

"Yes, I came to get medicine for Kamito who has a flu."

"What? A flu?"

Est told the whole story to the frowning Ellis.

"...I see now, so that is why you need to pick up medicine. How truly admirable of you."

Ellis praised with her arms crossed before her chest.

"Hmm? Flu medicine?"

The girls were thinking with their chins resting on their hands, slightly troubled.

"No more flu medicine?"

"We could tell you a recipe for a medicinal porridge that's very effective for flu, but—"

"Right now, we happen to be out of the needed herbs."

The girls shrugged.

"Hmm, so is there any solution?"

Ellis bit her lip and spoke.

"The needed herbs have to be gathered from inside the Spirit Forest."

The girls tore out the last page from a notebook, drew simple outlines on it then handed it to Est.

"Looking at these herbs, you'll definitely understand immediately because the characteristics are obvious to the eye. The recipe for the medicinal porridge is also written here. It should be easy to make."

"Thank you very much."

Est bowed deeply.

"Will you be fine on your own? Perhaps it might be better if I went with you?"

Ellis asked.

"I often take walks in the Spirit Forest, I will be fine."

Est turned to another direction, gripped the note firmly in her hand and hurried to the Spirit Forest.

===Part 5===

Meanwhile...

"What lovely weather for a stroll today, Carol."

"Indeed, milady."

In the courtyard under the sun's gentle rays, Rinslet Laurenfrost was taking Fenrir out on a walk.

Instead of his combat form as a giant magic wolf, Fenrir was in his tiny fuzzy strolling mode. He looked completely like a puppy like this.

"Woof, woof."

Fenrir, who was usually more docile than Scarlet, jumped around happily. The Academy's courtyard was located near the Spirit Forest and was a place where spirits felt joy.

"Speaking of which, milady, have you heard?"

Carol stopped walking and remarked.

"About what?"

"Kamito-sama seems to be resting the whole time due to a flu."

"A flu?"

Rinslet raised one eyebrow questioningly.

"How rare for an elementalist to catch a flu or other disease."

"He was probably too tired from the mission at the mining town. I also heard he was absent for lessons today too."

"Then Claire is the one taking care of him, right?"

"Apparently. Oh, but Claire-sama should have gone out to class at this time, so Kamito-sama is alone—"

Carol reported while reading from the notebook in her hand.

What was up with this maid, how did she know all kinds of news from the Academy?

"Milady, you are worrying about Kamito-sama, aren't you? Fufu."

"I-It's not like I am worrying, I-I simply..."

Rinslet denied with her face red.

Then she suddenly remembered.

"Speaking of flu, there is apparently a folk remedy passed down the Laurenfrost family."

"A folk remedy?"

"Yes, I learned it from head maid Natalia before, but..."

Rubbing her temples, Rinslet was just about to remember when...

"Woof, woof!"

Fenrir suddenly turned to forest and barked.

"Fenrir, what's the matter there?"

Rinslet frowned and looked in the direction that Fenrir kept barking at. There was a familiar figure there, walking into the Spirit Forest.

"Isn't that Kazehaya Kamito's sword spirit?"

"What is she doing all alone over there?"

"There are many dangerous beasts and spirits in the Spirit Forest. She needs to watch out."

Rinslet quickly chased after Est who was entering the Spirit Forest.

"Miss Sword Spirit, wait. Where are you going?"

"...?"

Est stopped walking and turned to look at her.

"Oh, it's the Snack Person—"

"My name is Rinslet Laurenfrost, not Snack Person!"

Rinslet remarked in exasperation.

Whenever she cooked, she would share extra snacks with the spirits, hence all spirits in the Academy recognized her as the "Snack Person."

"Do you have something important to do in the Spirit Forest?"

"Need herbs growing in the forest."

Est took out the note from her uniform pocket and told Rinslet why she was here.

"...I see now. To heal Kamito-san's flu, herbs are necessary."

After learning the reason, Rinslet nodded and said:

"Miss Sword Spirit, I shall help you too."

"Really?"

"Yes, it goes without saying that the master will look after the servant."

"Fufu, milady, why don't you be honest and just say that you're worried about Kamito-san?"

"Y-You got the wrong idea. It is nothing like that at all."

Rinslet hammered her fists on Carol's back.

"Thank you very much, Snack Person—"

Still expressionless, Est bowed deeply.

===Part 6===

"Hmm, this ought to be enough moon shadow grass."

"There's also the mist rain grass and longevity grass, this is quite a lot, milady."

"Woof!"

Having stepped into the Spirit Forest, the three of them started to gather herbs as written on the note paper.

Although the necessary herbs were not rare inside the Spirit Forest and did not require much effort to pluck, they were not that easy to locate.

"What a nuisance. The longevity grass can't be found in this area at all."

"Really?"

"Hmm, looks like unless we go deeper into the forest—"

"Milady, this seems to resemble the longevity grass.

Carol grabbed a small blade of grass growing on the ground.

"Carol, that is nothing more than an ordinary weed..."

Just as Rinslet was grumbling at Carol...

"Eh? ...Kyaah!"

Suddenly, the ground bulged upwards and the roots of the grass in Carol's hand attacked.

"W-What!? Woah!?"

"...!?"

Slither slither slither.

Nearby, Rinslet and Est were instantly tied up like Carol.

"...Eeek, mmm... Milady, hurry and help me~..."

"...Nnnn, this, insolent, kyah...!"

"...This grass is trying to remove my kneesocks!?"

"...Woof?"

Watching his master moaning, Fenrir cocked his head to one side in puzzlement.

"Ah, this is no game. H-Hurry and save us..."

"Woof!"

Responding to Rinslet's shout, Fenrir ripped the grass roots with his teeth.

However, the roots instantly regenerated and tied the girls up again. If Fenrir tried to freeze them, the tied up girls would probably get caught up too.

"...Kyah, d-don't touch, n-not there...!"

Just at this moment, there was a sudden sound of trees shaking in the depths of the forest.

"Hmm? What are you girls doing in a place like this?"

"Y-You are!?"

Rinslet suddenly raised her voice and cried out.

A blonde girl emerged from the depths of the forest with a large wooden staff in her hand.

"Horin Shareilia-san of Grizzly Class?"

"Oh, isn't this Raven Class' Snack Person?"

Putting down her staff, the girl chanted a brief incantation.

Suddenly, the roots loosened in an instant, retracting back into the ground with a whoosh.

"T-Thanks..."

Finally liberated, Rinslet, Carol and Est sighed in relief.

"There are many monsters here disguised as plants. You've got to be careful."

Picking up her staff again, the girl walked over.

Instead of living in the dorms, Shareilia of Grizzly Class lived in the Spirit Forest. Even within the Academy, she was a well-known eccentric. She was also an accomplished member of Team Cernunnos, which was ranked fifth in school. A powerful controller of beast swarm spirits.

"What are you girls doing here?"

"We are looking for this herb."

Est showed the note given to her from the students at the pharmacology department.

After reading the note, the girl nodded.

"If it's this kind of herb, I happen to have some."

"Really?"

"Yeah, come into my tent."

Est, Rinslet and Carol went into the tent in the forest.

Inside a small tent made of animal skins, there was smoke drifting with an unbelievable smell. There were also lots strange looking mushrooms and jars of herbs.

"Shareilia-san, why are you living in the forest?"

"Druids are elementalists who coexist with nature. Inside the forest, I can sense the presences of spirits more."

Shareilia took out the herb from a jar and gave it to Est.

"If you cut this herb up and put it into porridge, it should heal a flu straight away."

"Thank you very much, Forest Person."

Est bowed expressionlessly then gingerly placed the herb into a bag.

"This will reassure milady too."

Carol smiled.

"Yes, then I must depart in order to prepare for next class. Let us part ways here, Miss Sword Spirit."

"Yes, thank you very much, Snack Person."

"Like I said, Snack Person is not my name! Let's go, Carol—"

"Very well, milady—"

Just as Rinslet turned around and was about to exit the tent...

Suddenly, she stopped as though she remembered something.

For some reason, she turned her gaze to the wooden staff in Shareilia's hand.

"...Milady?"

"I remember it now. The folk remedy passed down the Laurenfrost family."

===Part 7===

Having obtained the herbs necessary for cooking medicinal porridge, Est walked over to the vegetable garden belonging to the Academy.

Rinslet had taught her the Laurenfrost family's folk remedy for flu. In order to put this remedy into action, a certain vegetable was needed.

"—Looks like there is plenty."

Stepping into the field, Est murmured expressionlessly.

Her eyes were fixated on the tall scallions growing in one corner of the field.

"Two ought to be enough."

Just as she knelt down, trying to pull out the scallion from the field—

"W-Wait, what are you doing!?"

A frantic voice came from somewhere.

"...?"

Est looked back to see a black-haired girl, dressed entirely in ritual attire, walking towards her.

Fianna Ray Ordesia, the Empire's second princess. Recently, she had joined Kamito's team. Having accepted a mission from the Academy, she had been preparing for a kagura dance ritual as part of an offering to ensure a bountiful harvest for this field.

Panting, Fianna ran over to Est's side.

"What is the matter?"

Est paused and turned her head.

"This vegetable garden belongs to the Academy. You can't just take vegetables away without permission."

"I can't take scallions from here?"

"Not unless you ask the spirits of this land first."

Fianna shook her head and frowned.

"...Speaking of which, why must you have scallions?"

"To heal Kamito's flu."

"...For this purpose?"

Est told Fianna the folk remedy she had heard from Rinslet Laurenfrost.

"Really? A folk remedy from the Laurenfrosts. Indeed, I have heard of it. Due to being a land of extreme cold and poverty, they have many peculiar methods of staying healthy there—"

Fianna rested her chin on her hand, pondering in a dilemma.

"Although I'd like to help cure Kamito-kun of his flu too, this field belongs to the spirits. If you take scallions without permission, the spirits will be angered."

Crops of the land were produced by the blessings of spirits together with the land. Without the blessings of spirits, crops could not grow healthily.

Hence, when harvesting crops, it was necessary to make a dance offering to please the spirits. Putting them in a bad mood would not be a good idea.

"I'll offer a ritual performance and try to ask if the spirits could share some of their scallions with us. A simple scaffold needs to be put up, so I think it'll be done by evening."

"No time for that, because Kamito is suffering from fever right now."

Est shook her head expressionlessly.

"I am the Demon Slayer. I have no need to plead to spirits of the land."

"Ah, wait up—"

Before Fianna had the time to stop her, Est had already plucked the scallions out .

In that instant, the ground shook, spewing a large amount of sand and soil.

"...!?"

"Kukeeeeeeeeeeeh!"

Amidst the large amount of scattered dust, ominous figures appeared.

They were four spirits with the outer appearance of chickens.

...Exactly like chickens. They looked identical to chickens no matter how you viewed them. Except that their beaks were especially gigantic, and they had horns as well, plus even two heads each. But their oppressive presence felt as though they far surpassed other high-ranked spirits.

"Those are..."

"Those are the Four Chicken Devas, the fierce bird spirits that rule this area!"

In shock, Fianna explained in a trembling voice.

These were truly high-ranked spirits who manifested entirely in the form of animals. Without exception, these fierce bird spirits would punish and drive away all Academy students who frequently tried to steal vegetables from here.

According to rumors, the Dusk Witch had brought out scrapped militarized spirits by her own decision when she first became headmistress, using them as protectors of the fields—

...Ultimately, there was still some truth to that rumor.

"Keh, kukehhhh!"

The fierce bird spirits raised their cockscombs and made very loud noises as though trying to threaten the scallion thief.

"F-Fierce bird spirits, please calm down!"

Fianna pleaded but to no avail.

"Kukehhh!"

Crowing, the four chickens ran towards Est.

All spirits in the Academy instinctively respected Est, the highest ranking spirit, but these chickens did not show the same behavior at all.

"Kehhhhhhhhhhhh!"

"Looks like they want me to make chicken pilaf out of them."

Est remarked expressionlessly and suddenly extended her hand in the air.

Instantly, countless swords appeared in her surroundings.

"Please give me the scallions—"

Hence, the deathmatch between the Demon Slayer and the Four Chicken Devas began.

===Part 8===

"...Est has been gone for so long."

Still staring at the ceiling, Kamito muttered quietly in bed.

No matter how safe it was within the Academy, for her to have taken so long, he could not help but worry.

"Scarlet, I'm sorry to ask this of you, but could you check things out?"

"Meow~?"

Scarlet poked her head out, but soon after.

Kamito heard the sound of the room door opening.

"—I am back, Kamito."

"Est..."

After seeing Est's face, Kamito finally showed an expression of relief.

"You took a long time, I was so worried... Uh, what's with your uniform!?"

Without thinking, Kamito looked away.

Est's uniform was tattered all over. Even her kneesocks had holes everywhere.

"...Don't look at the kneesocks. Kamito is such a pervert."

Est frantically covered her kneesocks that had many holes.

"S-Sorry... But what the heck happened?"

"Yes, I fought powerful spirits."

"Powerful spirits?"

"Please don't ask any further. Rather, Kamito, please have a good rest."

Est advised while walking over to the kitchen.

"...Est?"

"I will make porridge with herbs. Please wait a short while for me."

"Est, you know how to cook?"

"Of course, because I am the Demon Slayer."

"No no no, I don't think cooking has anything to do with being the Demon Slayer... C-Cough..."

"Kamito, be good and go to sleep."

"...Y-Yeah, got it... Thanks."

Despite feeling uneasy, Kamito still lay down.

===Part 9===

Several minutes after that...

"Ugh... Nnn..."

"...Kamito, are you okay?"

Est brought a bowl of porridge. Kamito was having nightmares in his fever.

"...Est, o-ohhh..."

"I made a bowl of porridge for you, Kamito."

"C-Cough... You're such a great help, thanks..."

Est placed the porridge on the table next to the bed.

Kamito sat up in bed.

Holding a spoon in her hand, Est stared expressionlessly at Kamito.

"...Est?"

"Please open your mouth, Kamito."

"Huh?"

Kamito was stunned for a moment.

"Please say ah~ and open your mouth, Kamito."

"No, it's okay, I can eat on my own. Can you give me the spoon?"

"No."

"B-But..."

Kamito gulped hard.

Est looked like she was in a good mood. She was really happy.

But going "ah~" was too embarrassing. Furthermore—

Bubbling. Bubbling bubbling.

The porridge was seething like lava... Eating it directly would probably scald his mouth.

"..."

"..."

Several seconds later, their gazes met.

"...F-Fine."

Kamito surrendered completely.

Fearfully, he opened his mouth with caution, taking the spoon into his mouth.

"So hot!"

Kamito reflexively jumped.

Originally on the bed, Scarlet got up and fled.

"Kamito, please don't move or else I will miss."

Saving the porridge that was almost knocked over, Est impatiently straddled Kamito on the bed.

"H-Hey...!"

"Kamito, please open your mouth now."

"HOT!"

Kamito bounced up a second time.

"...?"

"I think that porridge is a lot easier to eat if it cools down a bit..."

Est unwillingly put down the porridge.

"Phew..."

Kamito finally closed his eyes in relief, but his relief was short-lived...

Thud.

"...Woah!"

This time, Est straddled him and looked down at him.

In this manner, she began to undress with determination.

"W-What are you doing!?"

"I heard that passing warmth from skin to skin is better during a flu."

"W-Who did you hear that from...? Eh, though I can probably guess!"

Most likely, she heard it from Fianna.

(...T-That damn princess!)

"Kamito, be good and stay still—"

While continuing to undress, Est spoke expressionlessly.

Her skirt fell down, turning her completely naked.

"...Y-You'll catch my flu..."

"Spirits don't get flu."

Est suddenly brought her face up close.

"...?"

At this moment, Kamito suddenly noticed something strange and frowned.

Est was holding something long in her hand.

...A scallion. A long scallion of excellent quality.

"W-Why a scallion?"

"Kamito, show me your butt."

Scallion in hand, Est expressionlessly closed in.

"Don't... Est... STOPPPPPPPPP!"

Kamito's pitiful screams reverberated all over the Raven Class dorm.

===Part 10===

Claire returned to her room to visit Kamito during the lunch break.

"W-Why are all of you here?"

"N-Nothing much, just out of worry for Kamito-san!"

"It is perfectly normal for a knight to visit someone sick in bed."

"Fufu, unless I come to warm up Kamito-kun's body, well..."

The four girls met one another in front of the door. While restraining one another and opening the door...

"...Kamito?"

"...Ugh, ughhhhhhh—"

Kamito could be seen in bed, suffering from a nightmare.

"Wait, are you okay? ...But the fever seems to be completely gone."

"Why is he still having a nightmare when the fever has clearly gone down!?"

"Scallion... Scallion..."

"...Scallion?"

Everyone frowned and looked at one another.

For some unknown reason, lying on the floor next to the bed was a snapped scallion and Est upsidedown in sword form.

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Leviathan:Volume 5 Chapter 1

2016-05-09T17:47:52Z

130.212.95.229:

==Chapter 1 - Inheritance Game==

===Part 1===

It was the latter part of July with summer holidays having just started.

Haruga Haruomi and several witches had visited Izu together on an impromptu expedition.

However, travels in July did not end there. A few days after returning to Tokyo New Town, the team was off on another journey. Not only that, the destination this time was not even within the country—

"...I've been seeing the sea a lot lately."

With a clear blue sky overhead, visibility seemed to stretch far above as though one could see all the way into space.

Naturally, they were surrounded by sea in all directions, because Hal and company were traveling on a JMSDF escort vessel, observing a ''military exercise'' from the deck.

Although Japan's climate was quite hot, this place was on a different level.

The sunlight shining from above was so bright that it was almost like violence. The temperature on the deck also kept rising. Hal's hair was hot from the sun. Parts of skin not covered by his t-shirt also felt scorched like being burned by fire.

After all, these territorial waters of the Solomon Islands were near the equator in the southern hemisphere.

"By the way, Luna, to what kind of TPO (time, place, occasion) do you owe your current attire?"

"What a way to put things, Harry. Kettle, please meet pot."

Faced with Hal, who was wearing a t-shirt, half pants and sandals, Luna replied with an unimpressed expression. As for the blonde witch herself, she was wearing a new swimsuit that she had bought prior to setting off from Japan.

"Don't worry. I am pairing it properly with military style."

On the previous expedition, Luna Francois had dressed in black as her usual motif.

But this time, her choice was camo print paired with a khaki pareo around her waist. That said, this was an escort vessel's deck yet unbelievably, she even had a flower wreath on her head.

Staring at Luna Francois' gorgeous appearance, Hal could not help but retort, "But I think you have to pick navy style instead of army style in this situation. Like a sailor uniform or something."

"Despite saying that, Harry, you're showing quite a burning gaze."

"......"

This could not be helped.

After all, she was bending forward while dressed in a bikini, approaching him as though to display her chest to him, emphasizing her upper body in a seductive cougar pose...

Despite his closeted traits, Haruga Haruomi was still a gentleman. Hence, he took exceptional care to avoid speaking his mind.

Nervously, he ordered himself to hurry and shift his gaze away. However, Luna Francois smiled blissfully while watching Hal's behavior.

"Fufufufu. I never knew it would feel this enjoyable to be subjected to the burning gaze from the boy I like. Hey Harry, could you look at me more, pretty please? Stare intently at me like this and don't look away, as though you're trying to drill a hole into me."

"Huh!?"

"Please. I'll throw a tantrum if you look away, Harry, okay?"

"E-Even if you say that, it's still our job to observe the military exercise over there, right?"

"Don't worry. Nothing should go wrong as long as Asya is present in matters of this sort."

Making eye contact with Luna's upward gaze, Hal felt even more unsettled.

On this day in late July, the Japanese military ship carrying Hal and company was not the only one to travel to the Solomon Islands. There were two other escort vessels and a submarine accompanying them.

—And now, even more ships had gathered in these waters.

From the American navy was a cruiser, four destroyers, and a nuclear submarine.

The Australian navy had three light destroyers. Apart from that, one could see ships from various countries including Canada, Russia, Singapore, Indonesia, Korea, New Zealand, Chili...

This was a joint military exercise gathering all the member nations of the Trans-Pacific Defense Organization.

As a side note, the Americans had even dispatched an aircraft carrier whose homeport was Naval Station Pearl Harbor.

The military exercise was to last two weeks. Although it was not a live fire exercise, the participating countries had to follow the prescribed scenario and cooperate with allied ships in joint tactical maneuvers.

Hal and company were participating in the second day's schedule.

Normally in this type of exercise, the imaginary enemy—in other words, the dragons—would be played by fighter jets or unmanned drones. However, the "serpents" from various countries were taking part in the exercise today as the enemy role.

Swimming leisurely in the ocean was a gigantic sea serpent leviathan.

Other types included a white whale that one could call Moby Dick, a shark with wing-like pectoral and ventral fins, an ancient fish whose entire body was protected by armor-like scales, etc.

Furthermore, in the air—

There was a Garuda with golden feathers, a phoenix flying while enveloped in conflagration and other leviathans—

A blue wyvern's gigantic body was also flying in the air.

Naturally, that was Rushalka. In addition, she was in Queen Form, equipped with chest armor and arms of ruby, her entire body giving off magic more powerful than any other "serpent."

Suddenly, Rushalka began to ascend rapidly.

Not only was she increasing her altitude but also her speed gradually.

Rising from dozens of kilometers per hour to hundreds, then subsonic speeds, she soon broke the sound barrier, ascending rapidly with explosive noise and sonic booms, penetrating the clouds within the blink of an eye, disappearing from the view of Hal and the others.

At the same time as this sudden and rapid ascent—

The jet fighter squadron and many "serpents" also withdrew from the sky above Hal and company.

They must have received orders to retreat through communication devices. Apart from that, the "serpents" and their partners had keenly sensed it. Terrifying magical power of great density pervaded the area and the source was ''above.''

This was the magical power radiating from Rushalka, who had disappeared to a super high altitude.

A minute or two after all irrelevant personnel in the way had gone off...

Rushalka began to descend rapidly. However, because she was in supersonic flight, it was impossible to capture her majestic flying form with the naked eye. The blue gigantic figure fell rapidly through the clouds to the tropical sea surface in a straight line, accompanied by sonic booms, making an emergency stop just before crashing into the sea—Everyone witnessed this astounding aerial mobility.

The blue wyvern's performance was not over yet.

Rushalka invoked Water pseudo-divinity while hovering at a height close to the sea surface. In the next second, the sea around Rushalka rose up in succession. Breaking established rules of physics, the huge amount of seawater towered into the air.

Literally ''pillars'' of seawater, there were unbelievably eight of them.

With Rushalka in the center, the water pillars had rose up in the eight directions of north, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west and northwest respectively, reaching heights of almost three hundred meters.

—In a realistic sense, this performance was completely pointless.

It was like wasting a fighter jet's mobility on fancy acrobatics.

This was pointlessly wasting Asya and Rushalka's magic power, the Queen Form's energy and pseudo-divinity.

But at the same time, this was also a fantastic feat that no other witch in the world could imitate.

Even though Luna Francois and Glinda possessed the same level of ability, what they held was the attribute of Gravity, so logically speaking, they could not exhibit the same technique. One could safely say that the image of "the spectacular revival of Europe's former Shootdown Ace" had been carved into the minds of every country's military participating in the exercise.

Furthermore, the same went for "the potency possessed by the mysterious power known as dragonbane."

"Impressive as always, that's Asya. Don't you think so too, Harry?"

"Yeah. This was the aim in coming here, after all. This performance definitely did not betray expectations. Give her my share of navy curry later—Okay!?"

In the middle of responding, Hal jumped in surprise.

Dressed in a swimsuit, Luna Francois suddenly pressed against him, Her massive bust was weighing on Hal's back. If he had to express the impression in words, it would probably include "s-so soft" and "big and round like rubber balls with plenty of elasticity."

However, Hal stood his ground and spoke as a gentleman in a trembling voice, "A-Aren't we a bit too close...?"

"Being closer is only natural, isn't it? Because you keep looking at Asya, I'm jealous. It won't do if you won't look at me more."

"B-But Luna, you're behind me, right!? I can't see you like this at all!"

"Then hurry and turn around. Just embrace me from the front, Harry."

"Embrace!?"

If he turned around right now, the situation would turn into a passionate embrace with Luna.

Sweet temptation, like pouring honey and gomme syrup over candy, was making Hal's heart pound intensely. Just as he was about to turn around reflexively—At that very moment...

"What the hell is going on, you two!?"

An unexpected guest arrived suddenly.

Still with Luna hugging him, Hal forced his head to turn around.

Behind him, a silver-haired witch was standing sternly, glaring at the two of them sharply. Of course, her name was Anastasya Rubashvili—the girl nicknamed Asya.

"Good grief. I can't believe you were cavorting around in this kind of place while I was on the bridge to direct Rushalka... You two are outrageous!"

"Asya, 'cavorting' would be a little crude to be coming from a lady's lips."

"The one who was pressing her boobs against a boy has no right to say that to me."

Hal looked alternately between the angry Asya and the indifferent Luna while using his soup spoon.

Inside the mess hall at the escort vessel, the three of them were having a late lunch.

It was after 2pm at local time. The place was packed with people in SDF uniforms sitting around them. With the conclusion of the morning events for the second day of the joint military exercise, the crowd naturally gathered here for lunch.

Dressed in the same uniform, eating the same food.

It was like a scene from a school lunch. Being a high school student as well, Hal felt almost like he was sitting in a student cafeteria.

The main course was navy curry, a traditional menu offering passed down from the days of the Imperial Japanese Navy, plus a deep-fried chicken cutlet. Well, except that Hal's chicken cutlet had been forcibly confiscated by Asya as "an apology for all sorts of offense taken from his inappropriate behavior"...

As a side note, Luna Francois had changed back into her usual black dress.

"But even if you say my behavior was inappropriate—" Hal spoke between spoonfuls of curry.

"If I think about it more carefully, Asya, I don't think I've caused you any trouble, have I?"

"Of course you have! Witnessing you and Luna's indecent behavior, Haruomi, causes mental shock against my pure and innocent soul, which progresses to produce emotional turmoil. If that kind of scene was shown on television or in a movie, the sponsors would have protested long ago!"

"In that case, you didn't have to come along..." said Luna quietly, unfazed by Asya's angry complaints. A smile was hanging on the corners of her lips of her refreshingly beautiful face.

"According to the original plan, only Harry and I were supposed to come, you know?"

"A-Allowing you two to go out to sea alone is the kind of atrocious act that I forbid even more!"

Luna Francois was born in Oregon of the United States of America.

As a witch, whose activities were centered around the American West Coast and Hawaii, she was also the Trans-Pacific Shootdown Ace. With such accomplishments under her belt, she had built up an intimate relationship with the TPDO.

She had never missed the biennial joint military exercise held at the Solomon Islands, not even once.

On this occasion, she had invited Hal to take part together. Naturally, the purpose was not "to go out to sea alone."

By exhibiting the power of dragonbane on this kind of stage, their plans would surely reap profits in the future—

Hal agreed with Luna's view.

"Tokyo New Town would be left to Hazumi-san, Orihime-san and Asya to protect, while Harry and I use this military exercise as a public relations event with the future in mind. The distribution of roles was clearly assigned this way..."

"Personally, I'd prefer if at least one of you, Asya or Luna, could stay in New Town."

"Don't worry. If an emergency comes up, I'll tie you onto Rushalka, Haruomi, and deliver you back to Japan with priority supersonic flight."

The Solomon Islands were roughly five thousand kilometers away from Tokyo New Town.

To carry out such a long-distance voyage at supersonic speed would be an amazing feat rivaling the now discontinued supersonic passenger jet. However, it was definitely possible using Asya's magical power and Rushalka's Queen Form.

Even so, Hal could not help but mutter, "Then I'll have to endure the g-forces of supersonic flight the whole time? With a body of flesh and blood?"

"Don't worry. Given how you are now, Haruomi, you'll definitely withstand it!"

"Although that's probably true, I have to say no thanks!"

Haruga Haruomi possessed ''resilience allowing him to remain unscathed even when trampled by a gigantic dragon''. Apart from that, he was also capable of guarding his physical body with imperishable protection, hence Asya's idea was quite feasible.

Nevertheless, as long as he still regarded himself as human, Hal would resist to the very end.

Moreover, the crew of the escort vessel was having lunch in the surroundings.

These SDF officers had generously accepted the three high school students who were dressed in casual clothing.

It was commonplace for those involved with witches to be exceptionally young. Furthermore, after the frequent commotions caused by dragons in Japan recently, Hal's group had become widely known among the police and the SDF as the frontline combatant witches and the "mysterious consultant" who had stepped up to resolve matters.

Perhaps due to this reason, they were received by the escort vessel's crew with much cordiality.

Today's lunch was no exception. Although Asya had not made any demands regarding her navy curry, they still treated her to ''a small mountain of curry and rice on a plate twice as large as normal with three times as many cutlets layered on top''.

While savoring the crew's hospitality, Asya remarked with emotion, "Although I've spent time with various national militaries all over the world, the SDF's thoughtfulness in 'providing service without the other party asking' truly takes the cake."

"Just the fact that it doesn't feel stifling here actually makes it more comfortable than classrooms at school."

Compared to the space called the school, this place was closer to the world of Hal's childhood life.

Hence, that was why he found it more comfortable. That being said, they were going to return to Japan in a few hours.

Having made a striking impression on all the nations participating in the joint military exercise, the purpose of their journey would be considered accomplished. It would be best to hurry back home so as to reassure Orihime and Hazumi who were in charge of holding the fort.

"I wonder if there are any good souvenirs to buy around the Solomon Sea?"

After muttering to himself, Hal suddenly felt a bit perplexed.

There was a something unusual about his comment that prompted him to recall a forgotten memory—

"Hmm?"

Speaking of which, the name "Solomon" had been brought up last month.

===Part 2===

King Solomon—The ancient king of Israel.

His reign was said to have taken place around 1000 BCE. As the enlightened monarch who established Israel's prosperity, his name also appeared in the Old Testament of the Bible. There is one rather famous legend about him: Solomon was not only an ordinary king but also a great mage. In addition to subjugating seventy-two demons to do his bidding, he was even able to talk to animals and plants—

As a side note, the Solomon Islands did not have much of a connection to this king of Israel.

The name naturally stuck only because people discovered signs of gold there and called it King Solomon's treasure.

Currently, it was the next day, back in Japan after returning from the Solomon Islands.

Under the scorching summer heat, Hal was walking in a Japanese residential district.

The boundless view of the Southern Seas was long gone. Currently, he was at Monzennaka area in the Kōtō ward.

"In other words, that questionable legend about King Solomon as 'a great mage with numerous demons under his command' was actually based on a real person. Later on, the exploits of this person somehow became mixed up with King Solomon's, thus giving rise to the legend of 'Solomon the great sorcerer.' Am I right?"

"Mm-hmm. Basically."

What answered Hal's whispers was Hinokagutsuchi's voice.

She had not materialized. THe former dragon king's ghost simply spoke in Hal's ear to carry out the conversation. Fortunately, there were few people nearby, but from a bystander's point of view, it would have been rather disturbing.

"Also, I remember you mentioning last month about wanting 'to have the man named "Solomon" resurrected in the modern era.' What did you mean by that?"

The trip to the Solomon Islands had prompted Hal to remember what the former dragon king had said. Ever since, he would seek out Hinokagutsuchi to talk on every occasion, trying to get information about "Solomon."

"Well, that goal can be considered half complete already."

"Complete?"

"Mm-hmm. The man facing similar circumstances as the ancient Solomon has already been born."

There was laughter mixed in Hinokagutsuchi's voice.

However, it was the tasteless laughter of someone whose irresponsible joy was founded upon another's misfortune.

"He was a Tyrannos too. Obtaining the power of dragonbane as a mere human and even gradually mastering its use—Going as far as to make dozens of 'imitation' dragons his minions."

"...In other words, my predecessor."

"Rejoice. Know that you are the human who has attained heights closest to Solomon for the past millennia. The vast majority of the Tyrannos end up dying out on the field or turning into a dragon before that."

"......"

If Hal were to continue using the power of dragonslaying, he would transform into a dragon one day—

Recalling this, Hal sighed lightly. Although this was not a problem that could be solved by agonizing over it, if possible, he did wish to avoid such a fate.

"Judging from your case, it could be said that Solomon's legacy has benefitted you substantially."

"King Solomon's legacy? I have something like that in my possession?"

"What are you talking about? The 'imitations' used by contemporary humans—The methods to bring about their birth are precisely the mystic rites compiled by Solomon, thousands of years ago, by imitating dragonkind's arcane techniques."

"...The ritual for leviathan synthesis, huh!?"

At the Izu shore, they had encountered a dragon subspecies.

It was supposedly created by elite dragons using magic. So the two systems of synthesis came from the same origin.

And the one linking the two together was Solomon the great mage—

"Those who know of Solomon's exploits are few in number nowadays. Back when I was still a dragon king, many magi and priestesses idolized him."

"Well, excessive fame would make it seem shady instead."

Hal remarked with poignancy.

Ever since the time of ancient Greece, many "grimoires of King Solomon" had circulated, such as ''The Greater Key of Solomon'', ''The Lesser Key of Solomon'', ''The Testament of Solomon'', ''The Key of True Solomon'', ''Armandal'', etc...

Anyone with some interest in the occult would have heard of these titles, to greater or lesser extents, even if they were not experts on the subject of magic.

However, the contents of these books were absurd for the most part and ridiculed as the likes of idle gossip.

In fact, if experts like Hal were to see advertising along the lines of "the super grimoire of the great mage King Solomon!", they would likely laugh or grimace.

"Actually, a thousand years ago, I listened to a certain female mage's lifelong wish at the Dragon Palace Court—'O great Crimson Queen, I implore you to lend your divine assistance to resurrect Solomon the progenitor' or some such."

However—Hinokagutsuchi continued.

Before she could answer yes or no, the petitioner died first. It turned out that she had been tirelessly searching for King Solomon's magical secrets, dedicating her body and soul to reviving the path of unorthodoxy, despite being afflicted with a fatal disease.

"You're still remembering this? After all this time?"

Hinokagutsuchi's calm tone of voice naturally drew Hal into this topic.

"Mm-hmm. Perhaps her endearing face and seductive waist had something to do with it—Possibly."

"You're talking like one of those despicable pervert fathers, you know!?"

"Well, during this time, I have become old, experiencing a thousand years as a spirit. By the time I realized, the dragons that were supposed to be sleeping had already danced merrily back to earth, to extol springtime to their hearts' content. As for humans, I am afraid they will gradually decline and eventually exit the stage at this rate."

"....."

"That being said, it would be far too boring without the soothing sight of voluptuous maidens. Hence, an idea came to me. Suppose an opportunity were to present itself one day, I would bestow the Rune of the Bow upon a suitable human. It would be interesting if a lifelong wish requested of me in the past were to be accomplished now, a thousand years later."

"...I see."

To think there was such dramatic significance behind the dragonslaying rune he had inherited.

Hal could not help but feel overwhelmed with emotion. The greatest reason why he had survived till now was unbelievably due to a former dragon's king's momentary lustful whim.

"By the way, I can't believe it's Solomon. It's too ridiculous as magic-related information. Even professional treasure hunters like me have never investigated it seriously..."

Rather, amateur occult enthusiasts would be the ones to swarm all over it.

For an insider like Hal, it was too lowbrow a topic. Taking it seriously would feel embarrassing, which was why no one took the first step.

"Now for a change of pace, I'll muster up some of my true skills to check it out."

"Speaking of clues regarding Solomon, perhaps there is one that might be unexpectedly close by in your surroundings."

"What do you mean by that?"

While Hal was reeling from surprise at the sudden hint, Hinokagutsuchi said, "The flint in your possession was hidden by your father, wasn't it? Nevertheless, it is extremely rare for people to understand the value of that stone, even among those pursuing the path of unorthodoxy. The rare exceptions are limited to magi related to Solomon's lineage."

In other words—Hal suddenly realized what the self-styled devil was implying.

"Y-You mean that Pops was related to King Solomon?"

"Mm-hmm. Although it was a thousand years ago, back then, there was a mage cult that had inherited Solomon's magic and knowledge. Within their ranks were a few outstanding magi who regarded Solomon with adoring devotion."

"......"

"Perhaps your father was someone like that."

"Although Pops definitely knew how to use magic, he was at most the same level as me before I received the rune."

Indeed. Hal's father, Haruga Takafumi, was not a practitioner despite being a researcher of magic.

Apart from that, he was also a treasure hunter well-versed in history, archaeology, comparative cultural studies and mythology.

Well, despite all these shady titles, he was probably not a "mage who venerated King Solomon as his spiritual mentor," otherwise Hal would have known something about it no matter what as his son.

"......"

Hal thought deeply for a moment before taking out his cellphone.

While walking, he slid his thumb across the screen to type out a message. After selecting a few recipients, he sent out the email—He had nothing to lose even in the event of failure, after all. This bit of spent effort did not count as a waste of time even if it proved fruitless.

While thinking over these matters, Hal also reached his destination.

A place he had visited three months ago. He was standing in front of a samurai residence he had come to pay a visit with Asya before—The entrance of the Juujouji home.

Hal pressed the doorbell and waited for a while.

After a brief wait at the samurai residence's entrance, his friends, two young maidens, came out to greet him.

"Welcome back, Senpai!"

"Although you probably know this already, Japan has been very peaceful while you were gone."

Walking over to him with a radiant smile was Shirasaka Hazumi. The other girl—Juujouji Orihime—was also smiling cheerfully as usual.

This combination consisted of the two most heartwarming witches Hal knew.

"You came too, Shirasaka."

"Yes. Because I heard you were coming to Nee-sama's house... I ran over."

Hazumi replied with a bright smile, slightly mischievously.

Hal nodded. This was a very welcome surprise. After all, Shirasaka Hazumi was the one and only "adorable junior of Haruga Haruomi."

"Great, I happened to have brought souvenirs for you too, Shirasaka."

"Really!? Thank you, Senpai!"

"In other words, Haruga-kun, about the task mentioned earlier—"

"Yeah, it's done. I definitely bought stuff at local shops."

Facing Orihime who was looking at him mischievously, Hal replied.

This was something he had promised her before setting off to the Solomon Islands.

'Time permitting, I hope you could bring back some local specialties, since Hazumi especially likes receiving souvenirs from abroad and things of that sort.'

As a witch, Shirasaka Hazumi had been shouldering the responsibility of protecting Tokyo New Town ever since childhood.

Due to a chronic lack of people capable of taking her place, she had to live a life of restricted travel. Naturally, she had no experience traveling abroad either.

After hearing about that, Hal decided he had to bring back souvenirs no matter what hurdles he must overcome.

Right before making the journey back to Japan, the military had transported Hal and company via helicopter to the Port Moresby airport on the island of New Guinea. Using the three hour layover before their civilian flight was going to takeoff, Hal had gone shopping at a local open-air market.

There, he had bought strange masks carved from wood, bags woven from wooden fibers, etc.

Orihime winked cheerfully in response.

"Wonderful. Given that it's you, Haruga-kun, I was originally worried whether you would forgot to buy gifts and end up with no choice but to pick up cookies at Haneda or Narita airport to complete the task."

"D-Don't look down on me. This sort of favor is just a piece of cake," Hal replied with a slightly guilty conscience.

In fact, he remembered past instances when he had done exactly what Orihime had speculated. Rather, it would be better say that the action of "buying gifts" itself was something that he frequently forgot completely during his travels.

Simply poor at social skills and being used to his life of flying all over the world without a fixed residence were presumably the reasons for this.

It was probably with this personality of Hal's in mind that Orihime had tactfully reminded him before the he departed. Her thoughtfulness was meticulous as always.

Even so—Hal suddenly found it incredible.

It was something that happened the day before his expedition when he had met up with Orihime alone and the topic of souvenirs came up.

Hal had told her: Due to work reasons, I have to stay at the Solomon Islands for five days with Luna starting tomorrow. Back then, Orihime had froze for a moment in surprise before—

'J-Just you and Luna-san, the two of you, alone...?'

She had asked timidly in a feeble voice.

Her seemingly fearful appearance did not resemble her usual self, which was cheerful and outgoing. Until he answered that Asya was going too, only then did she finally seem reassured...

Despite having acted that way, Orihime had greeted Hal with cheerfulness rivaling the summer sun just now.

"By the way, I did as you asked earlier and informed my grandfather of your arrival. However, his reaction was somewhat strange."

"Strange?"

"Ah yes. When Nee-sama passed on the message that you had something important to discuss with him, Senpai, Grandfather Juujouji immediately entered a bad mood."

Orihime and Hazumi had reported an important finding. Hal could not help but tilted his head after listening.

Could he have done something wrong and angered him? Yet today's main purpose was to have a meeting with Juujouji's grandfather. In any case, he had no way of figuring out anything without meeting in person.

Hal then asked the two girls to lead him into the house.

Prior to Orihime becoming a witch, Hal had visited this Japanese-style room as a member of SAURU staff.

The master of the Juujouji household was waiting inside. Last time, he had worn a solemn and dignified kimono and this occasion was no exception. The only difference was the fabric, which had changed to linen for greater breathability in summer.

Hal, Orihime and Hazumi sat formally in seiza opposite him across the table.

Orihime's grandfather spoke with severe displeasure right from the start.

"Let me make myself clear first. I shall not hand my granddaughter over to you."

"What?"

"......"

"......"

Cough cough. Hal cleared his throat.

"Excuse me, is there some kind of misunderstanding here?"

"You said you had 'an important matter' to discuss today, didn't you? To announce this before hand then pay a visit to my home alone... In that case, there can be only one possibility."

This was his reason for getting angry?

Hal subconsciously looked at Orihime, who responded with her eyes.

(My apologies, my grandfather keeps saying strange things...)

(He's an old man who's overprotective of his granddaughter as always. Sigh, anyway, I guess I'll just have to try to start the conversation.)

(Yes, let's do that. I will assist you as much as possible.)

Simply by observing each other's eyes and facial expression, it felt as though they could communicate telepathically.

Was this a reward earned through surviving many life and death situations together, or had some kind of bond formed between him and Orihime? Even without words, it felt like they could convey their thoughts to each other.

Discovering this fact, Hal smiled wryly while Orihime beamed.

"Please listen to me, Grandfather. You've made a mistake. Haruga-kun is simply here to talk business."

"Y-You are telling me that now, after exchanging flirtatious gazes with him in front of me!?"

"No, Juujouji is telling the truth. Actually, I will be quitting SAURU officially in the future to start a new company in partnership with my friends."

Hal put away his business smile and spoke sincerely.

"I will be offering a proposal to the various businesses and authorities that have been longtime sponsors of the Tokyo New Town witches—Juujouji Orihime and Shirasaka Hazumi. In the future, they could choose to hire us to carry out part of the witch support business currently undertaken through SAURU... Or rather, all of it."

Orihime's grandfather was not simply "an old man who was overprotective of his granddaughter."

Having held important posts at many publicly traded corporations in the past, he still kept his status as a part-time consultant. Not only was he a local celebrity but also a member of the committee sponsoring Orihime and Hazumi.

As expected, he immediately sat up straight after hearing Hal's proposal.

"Why this sudden decision?"

"Have you glanced over the report that Asya and I wrote? It's the result of our discussion about how to make better and more meaningful use of the currently discovered dragonslaying magic that still falls under personal property. If it's a good time for you, I actually plan on explaining it to you."

"......"

Orihime's grandfather thought deeply for a while then spoke slowly, "Tell me in detail. The various disturbances happening around New Town recently have already become a problem for us."

===Part 3===

It was afternoon on August 1, considered the official start of the summer vacation.

Mixed among the students who were attending club activities diligently in the middle of holidays, Hal made his way to Kogetsu Academy.

He was visiting the Witch Mansion's temporary underground location beneath the library. As soon as he entered the spacious room that was being used as a conference room, he noticed that all of his companions had already assembled.

"Now that Haruga-kun has arrived, I think it's time we got started, right? Everyone, let's begin the fourth meeting regarding the GUILD project's operation."

The female student serving as the facilitator, Mutou-san, announced in a relaxed tone of voice.

Applause—The girl with the twintails, Funaki-san, clapped her hands in response. Sitting next to her, Orihime and Hazumi also applauded. As for the professionals, Hal, Asya and Luna Francois, they went through the motions of clapping at least.

Although the members of the group were not in sync at all, it should be fine.

After all, the purpose of their gathering was not to go for karaoke after school.

"Anyway, let me start."

While saying that, Mutou-san opened up her personal laptop.

"This is the project plan I sent to all of you through email this morning. It's pretty much 'preparations for the imminent day of information disclosure.' Has anyone read it yet?"

"I've glanced through it."

It was Asya who raised her hand.

"I think the plan itself is quite good. And making effective use of the social connections cultivated through the UFO Research Club's activities is also an interesting idea. However, I was hoping for something packing more of a punch..."

"A punch?"

"Actually, I agree with Asya. I believe that we need more eye-catching content, or an idol character to focus everyone's attention."

While Mutou-san was taken aback, Luna Francois shared her opinion.

"Think about it. Not long after the return of dragons, all humans of the world were shocked by the televised video of 'the speech delivered by Hannibal, the representative of dragonkind,' weren't they?"

"Oh, that's the dragon that descended on the Rockefeller Center, right!?"

"Thanks to that, information about dragonkind was spread rapidly throughout the world."

"I see—Now that you mention it, that video's view count has accumulated to unbelievable levels now..."

Mutou-san crossed her arms and began to contemplate.

Next to speak after her was Hal. He asked Funaki-san, "About Pavel Galad—the dragon that transformed into a handsome guy—that you witnessed at Kanegafuchi last month, did you ever see him again?"

"Nope, never again. However, it seems like he's made several appearances in that area since then."

"Really!? How do you know?"

Hal leaned forward due to this unexpected news. Funaki-san laughed "fufu."

"I tried asking around near Kanegafuchi Station. After all, he's a conspicuous silver-haired foreigner. I went around and inquired 'Have you seen a hottie like him~?' and ended up with quite a lot of eyewitness accounts, mostly provided by women. I'll show you the results of the investigation in my notebook later."

"That's amazing. You're such a great help."

Funaki-san was a lively girl who loved gossip and juicy news.

Evidently, she possessed initiative and investigative ability beyond Hal's expectations. Although his original intention was merely to hire her to handle administrative matters, Hal had unintentionally secured a talented individual.

"Why not have her go with the UFO Research Club's Sakuraba-senpai to search for Galad together? I think if we just obtain some slightly more precise intel, we can leave the rest to the police..." Hal muttered.

Gathering information about dragonkind, to disclose to the general public—

This was the UFO Research Club's primary activity. And the member who stood as the club's information gathering expert was someone known as Sakuraba-senpai. He was apparently carrying out his "activities" diligently outside of school every day, which was why it was hard to find him on campus. Even Hal had never met him before.

However, Hal was finally able to obtain his contact details through Mutou-san and President M.

Someone capable of obtaining undisclosed images of leviathans through specific channels would definitely be quite reliable if he could recruit such a person to their cause.

Hal expected an audio recording of this meeting to be passed along to Sakuraba-senpai afterwards.

"By the way, about the audio records of this meeting—"

"I am in charge of that, Senpai!"

Hal allowed his sudden thought to slip out of his mouth and Hazumi immediately responded with a smile.

She had her notebook open and was writing down all kinds of things in an organized manner. A portable audio recorder was next to her hand. As Hal's assistant, she had everything meticulously prepared.

"Oh right, I have a message to pass to you, Haruga-kun."

This time, it was Orihime's turn to speak.

"A message from President M: 'Going all the way down to the basement is too much work. Just send the minutes over!' That's what she said. 'I will watch over you no matter what needs to be done, so go ahead and do it with no regrets!' She also said that."

"...Feels like a guardian angel and protective spirit combined, how reliable... I guess?"

He had tried approaching President M without expecting much, but the president ended up promising support.

Even without being present, her(?) suspicious repertoire of skills, open-mindedness and competence were still quite reliable. Hal's team lineup was gradually filling out.

At that moment, the conference room's door opened with a click.

"—Hello everyone, I've brought refreshments for you."

A rare visitor entered, carrying a convenience store bag.

It was a beautiful woman whose glasses matched her intellectual appearance very well. Having been promoted to the post of SAURU's Kantou branch chief, Hiiragi Yukari had gone out of her way to make a visit from the Yokohama branch between tasks.

Hiiragi-san put down the convenience store bag on the table where Hal's group was gathered around.

Inside was a two liter bottle of oolong tea, paper cups, several cans of coffee, snacks, etc. Then on the table, she placed a paper bag she had been carrying in her other hand.

This bag contained roasted rice crackers and had the words "roasted by hand on a coal flame" written on it.

"This is from Kenjou. I made a detour to the Mirokudou New Town branch just now and he specifically asked me to bring these along as an apology since he could not attend this meeting. He also asked me to send his regards to all of you."

Indeed, their lineup was gradually filling up.

When Hal shared his ideas with acquaintances inside SAURU, many of them ended up voicing their support. Furthermore, Hiiragi-san and Kenjou-san had promised to maintain confidentially until the time was ripe. After swearing an oath using the magic of Contract in God's Presence, they agreed to join as well.

Hal and company's plan was advancing surely and steadily.

That being said, the end goal was still very distant and there was no guarantee at all that he could follow it all the way to completion. Besides, there was still a rather challenging problem at hand.

The white dragon king—Princess Yukikaze. She was definitely not going to remain aboveboard indefinitely as now—

"...Looks like there's no need to collect more weapons for the time being. I have to catch up on other aspects first..."

Instead of speaking out loudly, Hal was muttering to himself.

Last time, he had obtained the Rune of the Twin Katana in the Izu waters. Having retrieved the ''aforementioned rune'' in secret, his dragonslaying runes were probably of sufficient quantity.

What he needed to accomplish now was a new mission whose importance was only secondary to the search for weapons.

After the meeting ended, Asya made her way to the Literature Club's room.

Her purpose was to meet President M. She was going unaccompanied. The other members had already departed.

The group had decided to get together for dinner. With Orihime and Hazumi present too, there was no need to worry about Luna taking Hal away...

"President, I've brought the minutes and the audio record of the meeting."

"Put it over there first. It's been a while. How have things been lately?"

The setting sun's rays were streaming in through the window, turning the Literature Club's room into a shade of orange.

President M was standing by the window. Her massive body, 140kg by visual estimates, was clad in what resembled a crimson maternity dress.

"A few days ago, you said on the phone that the girl called Luna has started charging around in a reckless manner recently, right?"

"Exactly! I really don't get how the gears of destiny turn. Luna suddenly said she l-l-l-likes Haruomi. It's terrible!"

Seizing the opportunity, Asya began to gripe all at once.

"Dragging Haruomi out on any pretext, she's thoroughly pursuing the tactic of spending time alone together!"

"Endlessly spamming the special attack that you want but isn't available to you, I see."

"Gyah!?"

"I originally thought that the romantic comedy situation surrounding Haruga would be stuck in a stalemate with Princess Orihime in the lead, but never did I expect a black ship to arrive. At this rate, that Haruga's going to be snatched away."

"W-What makes you say that!?"

"A power play from seductive flesh imported directly from America, plus the fact that he's a lecher."

"Ehhhhhhhhh!?"

"The only hope is for the hitherto laid back princess to awaken because an unexpected rival had shown up. As for the little angel, she is at a bodily disadvantage no matter what."

"P-President, what if I could rise to the forefront now as the childhood friend—"

"Isn't that impossible? Completely hopeless. Look, here's the principle. No matter what you multiply zero by, the result is always zero. This is the law of multiplication."

"No way! Then what's the point of all the special training I've been doing till now!?"

"But you have truly made no progress... I am astounded by your incompetence."

"Oooooooh!"

President M's accusation was quite harsh. Asya had some self-awareness too.

"However, your tireless perseverance is one of your strong points. Even now, you are carrying out some type of plan to oppose that American girl, aren't you?"

"Y-Yes. Actually, it's to prevent Luna from monopolizing an unchallenged position."

Only now did Asya puff out her chest in pride.

"Luna has been using a hotel suite as her residence all this time, so I barged in to make my home there! This way, I can stop Luna from doing sneaky things at night!"

"You fool. If you're going to stay at someone's place, why not move into the Haruga home directly?"

"Huh?"

"Isn't that a staple in juvenile novels aimed at inexperienced teenage boys? A cute girl invades the male character's home, thus imposing cohabitation by force. You could do the same thing and be done with it."

"......"

Listening, Asya felt that things were precisely how President M described them.

However, Asya still argued back as a maiden with a bottom line that must not be crossed no matter what.

"Th-That approach—feels repulsive after all. Invading a boy's home to live there tyrannically, that kind of thing..."

Saying that, Asya began to feel embarrassed, meanwhile feeling her cheeks turn red.

"I still think this is something that's only allowed after engagement or marriage!"

"I can't believe you're speaking like a pure and innocent main heroine when you're clearly in no position that could afford the luxury of making such statements..."

"B-But I am undoubtedly the pure and innocent main heroine, you know!?"

"Wrong. Wrong. Currently, you are undoubtedly a clownish variety idol."

"I-I can't believe you're using the twentieth-century term 'variety idol' to describe a maiden in the flower of youth!?"

"In your case, you might be better off with a case of amnesia."

"Huh?"

"Think about it. The situation started to shift dramatically in ''Madan no Ou'' ever since T●gre lost his memory and went missing. Despite being in a completely reset state, T●gre was able to cultivate a relationship with Elizaveta at his usual pace, even conquering ×× on the side (note: Volume 9 events)."

"I-I somehow get the feeling you're alluding to a different dimension!?"

"Anyway, that's that. The situation will only grow worse if you lack the resolve necessary to turn the current situation completely upside down. Without the slightest doubt, I dare assert that."

"......"

Completely reset—Just as Asya was feeling shocked by these words...

The cellphone in her pocket suddenly sounded with a message alert. Feeling completely exhausted by the continually shocking conversation, she took out her phone almost unconsciously.

Asya checked the email and reacted with surprise.

"Mom is coming to Tokyo?"

===Part 4===

"It's been a while, Haruomi-san. I'm glad to see Asya in such good health too."

These were Auntie Yulia's first words upon meeting Hal again after many years.

Prior to the reunion, all she had sent was a brief message stating "Heading to Tokyo tomorrow, scheduled to arrive at 11:17 at Haneda."

This message had been received on Hal and Asya's cellphones merely eighteen hours prior. As a side note, almost all of what used to be the heart of former Tokyo had been taken as territory for the Old Tokyo Concession, although the airport-less Ōta ward was excluded.

Currently, Hal and his childhood friend were sitting in a cafe inside Haneda airport.

Seated across the table and the three cups of coffee was a silver-haired woman.

Her name was Yulia Rubashvili.

In other words, Asya's mother. On top of her t-shirt, she was wearing a khaki short sleeve military shirt. On the bottom, she had a pair of black jeans. Draped over her shoulders, the light shawl accentuated her womanly charm.

"Please don't suddenly announce you're visiting the next day just like that. It's not like we're free every day either."

"Sorry, Asya. It's because the idea of making a visit only occurred to me suddenly yesterday morning."

Yulia replied calmly to her grumbling daughter.

Her voice and tone were so calm that some people might actually believe it if one were to describe her as a combat android from the future. Then there was her exquisite face. Sitting opposite this "auntie" who was present with her daughter, Hal kept thinking to himself what a beauty she was.

Not only were Asya and Auntie Yulia daughter and mother, but they also bore a strong resemblance.

Their faces could even be described as identical. Both of them possessed beautiful faces reminiscent of fairies, dreamy and delicate, combined with petite and slender figures, as well as gorgeous silver hair rich with vibes of fantasy—

However, there was a decisive difference between the two of them.

This was the fact that Auntie Yulia was a genuine cool beauty through and through.

Precisely at that moment, a middle-aged waiter brought their orders.

Pancakes, a hamburger, a club sandwich, a mille crepe, and a hot dog. Incidentally, only the hot dog at the end was what Hal had ordered to serve as a late breakfast. The rest were all Asya's orders.
[[image:Leviathan 05 046.jpg|thumb]]

After lowering her gaze to glance over this food, Auntie Yulia immediately said, "Asya, your appetite is hearty as ever."

"Don't worry. After all, a witch's job is very calorie intensive."

"Indeed, what you say is correct. Then keep eating at this rate, since all of it is for the sake of surviving the present, in order to pluck the fruit of victory in the future."

Auntie Yulia was a researcher at SAURU's headquarters in Istanbul.

Hal had heard that she used to belong to the air force of Europe's defense organization before giving birth to Asya, reaching the rank of major prior to her retirement.

As a result, she would sometimes speak with inexplicable strictness.

Encouraged by such a mother, Asya's eyes instantly lit up.

"As expected of you, Mom, you understand me best!"

"As for the price to be paid, perhaps you will have to bear the risk of ending up with your grandmother's obese figure. Well, this is theoretically unavoidable. I also believe that there is no need to sacrifice combat potential for the sake of dieting. Oh, but Asya, you must take precautions against diabetes—"

"D-Don't list out these potential risks if you're going to encourage me to eat more!"

Hal observed the mother and daughter's conversation while eating his hot dog.

He had set off from his home at Narihira Bridge without eating breakfast this morning, hence this was his first meal of the day. Come to think of it, Auntie Yulia's age was still impossible to guess from appearance.

With her fifteen-year-old daughter by her side, they looked like sisters.

To be honest, she was a woman who surpassed Asya in terms of the "Fairy Index."

"By the way, Auntie Yulia, you were on a business trip in Indonesia until yesterday, right? Is that why you took the chance to visit Tokyo New Town while you were at it?"

"Indeed. You are very up-to-date, Haruomi-san."

"Even as her daughter, I haven't heard about this."

"It's nothing really, because it was written in the fan club's newsletter. Auntie Yulia had already arrived at the Jakarta branch last week."

"E-Even you, Haruomi, have joined that suspicious club!?"

"How troubling. To think that I'm being treated as a celebrity when I am nothing more than an ordinary SAURU researcher. Frankly speaking, this is quite problematic for me."

"After all, Auntie Yulia, you're not only pretty but also a wonderful person too."

Seventy-eight SAURU members across the world had joined the "Club of Unlimited Support for the Exquisitely Beautiful Ms. Yulia." In fact, Hal had already joined as a member five years ago.

Hal put on a serious expression then said, "There are quite a lot of people who want Auntie to step on them or give them cold stares."

"How very troubling..."

"Gah. I-In that case, why don't they praise the daughter who is younger and more tender, or treat me like an idol? The men of SAURU are seriously blind!"

"Well then, I think it's time for me to get going."

There should be plenty of catching up between mother and daughter. Hal tried to show his considerate side, but Auntie Yulia shook her head and suddenly said, "Haruomi-san, this visit of mine to Tokyo actually includes business with you."

"Huh?"

"Didn't you send me an email a while ago? 'I hope you could provide details if you happen to know about the King Solomon case my father handled in the past.'"

" "——!" "

Hal and Asya gasped in unison.

After all, their families had been acquainted for generations. Asya's grandmother and her deceased father both knew Hal and his father.

To think that a source of information would immediately fly to him from nearby like the proverbial blue bird of fortune—

Auntie Yulia began to explain patiently...

"The problem with Asya is that even if you try to knock her out with a sedative, she'd detect it through taste and scent. She's almost like a wild beast."

The location was the luxury hotel where Luna Francois made her residence.

Hal was seated facing her in a lounge at this hotel. Hal had ordered a coffee while Luna had grapefruit juice. The two of them had picked table seating. It was after 7pm and if Hal and Luna were adults, they would probably be sitting side by side next to the window, drinking alcoholic beverages at this hour.

Unfortunately, both of them were still minors.

"There has been more than one occasion when I wanted to mix sleep medication into Asya's food so that I could invite you out for an evening spin while she was sleeping. However, I always dismissed the notion due to the high probability of futility. Whatever, there is no shortage of measures as long as I get serious, after all."

"Hahahaha..."

Hal laughed dryly. If chances of success were fifty-fifty, Luna Francois would definitely drug Asya without any hesitation.

"However, you are at fault too, Harry."

"Me?"

"Yes. I've clearly confessed my feelings to you, haven't I? Besides, we can immediately become a couple as soon as you consent. With that, a mere childhood friend like Asya will have neither right nor reason to interfere."

"......"

"It's all because you're imitating the romantic comedy staple of withholding your answer indecisively. That's why Asya could seize the opportunity to start interfering."

"Speaking of which, she's been staying at your place for now, right?"

"Although I could refuse and ask her to leave, the most that would accomplish is drive her over to the suite adjacent to mine. Since it's too much trouble, I tolerated her."

Just like Luna Francois, Asya was also a master-class witch.

Due to the financial compensation for their battle accomplishments so far, they had accumulated massive funds (Luna's level could even be called "an estate"). Even willfully splurging on expensive suites at luxury hotels would not cause much of a burden.

Hal could not help but tilt his head.

"Why is that girl Asya so intent on hindering you, Luna? Even when I asked her, all I got for an answer was that she had to keep the reason a secret from me."

"Ah wonduh whahy? How baffling, ah dudn geddit either."

"Hmm? Were you speaking a bit strangely just now?"

"Nope. You imagined it, Harry♪"

After chuckling with an impish smile, Luna Francois leaned forward.

"So, what did you figure out after talking to Asya's mother? You met up this morning, didn't you?"

"Nothing much, I tried asking about the whole story of how Pops got his hands on the flint... Turns out it wasn't a spectacular adventure story like Indiana Jones at all."

Shrugging, Hal began to recount.

—It happened to have taken place during the year 2000 CE exactly.

That was when dragonkind had recently returned to earth. Hal's father and Auntie Yulia were working at SAURU's New York branch. One day, the branch staff discovered a set of ancient artifacts named the "the posthumous writings of the great mage, King Solomon, and the cursed stone."

The one who deciphered Solomon's posthumous writings would be able to inherit the king's fortune.

The stone was a key leading to great power. Dragons would tear the holder apart. Hence, confidentiality was paramount.

...It sounded like a very fake advertisement.

No magical power could be detected from either the document regarded as Solomon's posthumous writings or the accompanying stone. Even so, Hal's father and Auntie Yulia still went through with the appraisal process just in case.

On that day, New York proceeded to be assaulted by numerous dragons.

"The Great Attack in the Year 2000... refers to that?"

"Yeah, that's the one. Leading his Army of Fire composed of a thousand Raptors, Hannibal arrived at New York by air, delivering a devastating blow to the US military in that attack."

Hal nodded in confirmation to Luna Francois' question.

"Incinerated by the flames of war, Manhattan Island was directly annexed by Hannibal to become his territory, thus giving rise to the Old Manhattan Concession."

"The so-called 'Great Attack' was quite a dramatic situation in and of itself."

"Yeah. After that, Pops and Auntie Yulia fled in desperation with only their personal belongings to evacuate from the streets that were under attack from Raptors. Back then, Pops happened to take that Solomon's stone by chance, which is also the flint I came across twenty years later."

Indeed. This was the secret stone hidden inside the Clockwork Mage.

"During their escape, Pops and Auntie Yulia were pursued relentlessly by a Raptor, unable to shake it off despite using stealth magic many times. Only after making their getaway successfully at last did they begin to suspect—Perhaps this was due to that 'dragons would tear the holder apart' curse."

As the story went, the stone was handed over to Hal's father in the end, who promised to contact Auntie Yulia immediately if he discovered anything.

"However, many years passed after that but Pops never initiated contact about the matter. Auntie Yulia completely forgot about it too."

Hal had previously tried to gather information about the flint—He wrote emails to those acquainted with his father.

But in the end, no one responded, not even Auntie Yulia. Simply mentioning "his father had hidden a stone belonging to the dragons" as a clue was not enough to jog Auntie Yulia's memory.

However, thanks to the "Solomon" keyword this time, his investigation did not run into the same problem...

"What follows is just my speculation. I think Pops probably kept that stone by his side to observe—And ended up with no results, which is why he didn't leave behind any information about the flint."

"Then why did he hide the stone in his pocket watch?"

"Because Pops has a finicky tendency just like me. He tried to obey the legend and hide the stone, so on a playful whim, he chose to hide it in his pocket watch, then he probably forgot all about it."

Hal brought up his unfounded speculation.

But considering his father's personality, his hunch was very likely to be correct.

"If he was seriously trying to hide it, he would've picked a safer and more secure hiding place. If he seriously considered it worthy of research, he would've left complete records behind at least."

"Speaking of which, Harry, there's one detail that I find concerning."

Luna Francois interjected at that moment.

"According to the current theory, the other artifact left behind at the SAURU branch in Old Manhattan... is very likely to be King Solomon's posthumous writings, is that right?"

"Yeah, I'd bet on it."

In fact, he had been reviewing satellite images with Asya this afternoon.

This was the latest photographic data of the Old Manhattan Concession taken by spy satellite. Standing tall silently in the Upper East Side area, it had escaped destruction from dragonkind's fires...

Luna's eyes instantly lit up after hearing about it.

"Then we must set off on an expedition to Old Manhattan. Obtaining King Solomon's fortune, which stood equal to the flint, should bring benefits without drawbacks."

"Yeah, you're right."

"For the past few months, our combat potential has increased dramatically... But still, it is not enough to take dragon king-class opponents head on. It is necessary to keep gaining experience to strengthen our combat power."

"Perhaps you're right."

Hal agreed with Luna from the bottom of his heart.

Truth be told, he had no confidence in securing a draw if he were to face Princess Yukikaze in a rematch. He barely survived the June battle only thanks to deploying the Crimson Queen as a surprise factor.

"Since weapon quantity has progressed swimmingly, it's time to trigger events like spectacular attack spells or ultimate summoned contracted beasts, etc."

"Yes, in order to pursue such possibilities, King Solomon's fortune is ultimately—"

"I'd really like to get my hands on it before the others. But the fact that the treasure is located at the Old Manhattan Concession would be a risk factor."

Hal muttered and Luna Francois responded with a smile.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained, Harry. Commit your determination and let us head out on an expedition to America? How about stopping by the West Coast along the way and make an appearance at my house?"

"Oh... Actually, about that..."

Hal found himself at a loss for words momentarily, unable to bring up his core purpose in visiting Luna tonight.

"I hope you could stay in Tokyo New Town, Luna."

"Eh!? What do you mean by that, Harry!?"

"Old Manhattan is considered the most dangerous zone even among concession territories. Old Tokyo can't compare to it at all. If we're going to infiltrate it, Asya and I should be the ones to do it, just the two of us. In addition, there's no telling how long we have to be away from Tokyo... It wouldn't be good idea if both you and Asya were out of the country."

Through the Izu expedition earlier, Hal understood that Luna Francois was not the physical type.

In a situation where demands on stealth movement, survival skills, mobility and magic must all be met, the Asya-Hal combination would be the ideal choice. Conversely, if ''one of the two'' had to stay behind to defend Tokyo, Luna was also more suitable than the Georgian girl.

Not only did she wield a witch's power but also influence as a SAURU cadre.

Apart from that, she was a strong negotiator stemming from her ability to make judgment calls accounting for the big picture. Perhaps realizing it herself, Luna murmured glumly, "Well, since one of us must remain behind, I am confident that I could do a better job than Asya... However, Harry, this is a rare chance to go traveling!"

"A-Although it's traveling, it's also a business trip at the same time."

"Hmph. In any case, you're asking me to hold the fort with Orihime-san and Hazumi-san, aren't you?"

"As for that... Since it's a rare chance to visit the East Coast, I plan on bringing Juujouji and Shirasaka along. Making a trip to ''Salem'' should be a good experience for them."

"...!?"

A vortex of anger suddenly swirled in Luna's blue eyes—but it lasted only an instant before returning to the shine of rationality. Looking at Hal with a challenging gaze, she said in a sulk, "Then in that case, Harry, I will obey you if you give me a present right now."

"Huh, a present?"

"Yes, an advance reward for me, who will be holding the fort alone."

"Even if you tell me that suddenly... I don't know what to give you."

"It's very simple—If I do this, you ought to understand, right?"

Currently, the two of them were conversing with a low table between them.

Luna Francois suddenly drew her face up close to Hal's face. Then she closed her eyes, presenting her adorable and beautiful face in a seductive and vulnerable display!

"!?"

"Hurry up, Harry. Give me my reward kiss."

"R-Right here!?"

"Yes. Haven't the two of us done something similar not too long ago? Don't worry."

"B-But there are people around. And besides, we're not dating."

"It is a reward precisely because there are people watching. Besides, this has nothing to do with dating or not. I have already gone as far as to grant you permission."

Hal still faltered. Although guests at a hotel lounge at 7pm were not numerous, they were not absent either. In addition, there were three or four members staff on standby...

However, a voice surfaced in his heart.

—Unless Luna is satisfied, she won't agree to staying behind on defense duty. She might even take a flight to the East Coast in pursuit...
[[image:Leviathan 05 058.jpg|thumb]]

Armed with this theoretical backing, Hal was coerced into complying.

Timidly, he approached Luna's beautiful face and planted a kiss gently on her lips.

At that very moment, it became Luna Francois' turn to attack. She sucked and pecked Hal's lips lightly, savoring him tenderly.

Covering Hal's lips with her own, Luna sucked with audible smooching.

Finally, she even inserted her tongue to entangle Hal's, thoroughly enjoying the taste of a passionate kiss.

During this time, Hal could neither resist nor think, simply frozen on the spot.

This kiss persisted for roughly two or three minutes. Luna Francois slowly relaxed her lips and looked at Hal's face with rapture and desire.

"It is a request from my beloved Harry after all. I shall be an obedient girl this time."

"Th—Thanks."

"However, don't forget to reward me next time you need a favor, okay? Otherwise, I might shoot you in the back, Harry. With a large-caliber rifle meant for hunting elephants!"

Ten minutes after parting ways from Luna Francois at the lounge...

The pounding in Hal's heart still had not subsided while he walked to the hotel lobby with unsteady footsteps. This was already his second time sharing a kiss with Luna Francois. Every time was such an intense shock—

Just as he was walking in a daze, someone suddenly spoke to him.

"Haruomi, how did it go on handling Luna's side of things?"

"Huh!?"

He jumped in fright, only to see that the speaker was Asya.

"You just went to see her to ask her to stay back, right? What's the result?"

"I-It went very well, yes! After I told her the reason, she definitely understood!"

"Really? Looks like it was right to have you tell her directly, Haruomi."

Had Asya been present, negotiations might have broken down.

Hal had gone to meet Luna alone precisely because he was worried about that.

However, the scheming American girl could also kidnap Hal and take him out to the streets at night. Asya was probably waiting in the lobby for him to prevent that possibility.

After hearing about the outcome, Asya nodded with apparent satisfaction.

"Although I felt uneasy letting you go alone, Haruomi, dear me, with so many eyes in the hotel after all, even someone as audacious as Luna would have no choice but to behave!"

"Roight. Yeah, no problemo, totally no problemo!"

"? Haruomi, why are suddenly speaking in a funny way?"

"N-No, I didn't. Let's go home sooner to make preparations before the trip."

They had informed Orihime and Hazumi beforehand and he two girls had agreed to go to America together.

Although there was the uncertain factor of Princess Yukikaze using Old Tokyo as her base, the prey that might be found in Old Manhattan was too attractive.

After the Solomon Islands, another departure from Japan to overseas—

Hal and Asya exchanged nods and walked to the hotel's entrance together.

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