Editing Chrome Shelled Regios (Español):Volumen1 Capitulo 3

===Capítulo ===
"Porfin me me establecí.¿ Cómo estas por allá? Es irritante commo las ciudades solo se pueden comunicar por cartas. Sería  grandioso si pudieramos hablar por teléfono, Pero ¿como juntar las lineas entre las ciudades? si eso se pudiera hacer, Las ciudades probablemente se tropiezen con los cables."

"Honestamente, estoy cansado, Estoy acostumbrado a limpiar el Departamento de Mecanica, pero sigue siendo problematico. Supongo que me acostumbrare a estas horas irregulares, tarde o temprano. Ahora mismo, todo lo que puedo hacer es seguir haciendolo."

"La vida en la escuela esta bien. Pero no he tenido mucha oportunidad de usar mi cerebro, asi que no estoy esperando muy buenos resultados."

"Me arrepiento por no escucharte y no estudiar seriamente. Debes estar riendote ahora. Ok, esto es la realidad, asi que solo puedo aceptar tu risa. Enserio me arrepiento."

"Desde el día que dejé ir La espada celestial, He regresado ha ser alguien normal. Excepto que, es difícil empezar de cero. A veces pienso que mi pasado estilo de vida era relajante. Una voz dentro de mi espera volver a la vieja vida."

"Es embarazoso. Mi mestro no me dejará. Su majestad no lo permitirá. Aún yo no estoy deacuerdo con ello. Dejar el arte de la Katana fue mi manera de mostrar mi postura a mi maestro y su majestad."

"El ser perdonado por dejar la Katana fue mi mas grande…. Uh, ¿Qué estoy diciendo, Perdón, por favor olvida todo eso"

"Eso es solo una excusa. Todo lo es. De verdad soy inútil."

"No enviaré esta carta. No vale la pena leerla."


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"¿Estás bien?" Preguntó Mifi.

Era la hora del almuerzo. Layfon recostado sobre la mesa. El no tenía ni la fuerza para ir a comprar pan.

Mifi drenó la leche preempacada sin mover un pie, lanzó el la caja a la cesta de basura. La caja voló y cayó en la cesta como si esta la hubiera jalado a si misma. 

"... Mifi-chan, estas sucia," Meishen protestó.

La leche que quedó en la caja se había derramado desde el popote. Mifi ignoro a Meishen, quien tenía su pañuelo presionado en un lado de su cabeza. Meishen estaba viendo a Layfon también.

"..... ¿Estas bien?"

"Si, estoy bien."

Aún el propio Layfon no estaba seguro. Lo que había dicho no era convincente en absoluto. El vio las ojeras  bajo sus ojos<ref>Perdonen la redundancia</ref> el día anterior, asi que el se sentía algo desanimado.

"Hablando de ti mismo con esa expresión. No eres convincente."

Naruki regresó al salón de clases. Ella traía dos bolsas de papel y dejó una frente a Layfon.

"Ten. Tomé lo que encontré porque no se que hubieras preferido ni lo que te gusta"

"Ah, lo siento. Gracias"

"No hay problema. Solo recuerda pagarme de vuelta."

Naruki sonrió mientras recuperaba el dinero de manos de Layfon. Entonces ella miró su cadera y vio una .............................................................................................................................................................................................................

Naruki smiled as she took back the money from him. She then looked at his waist and saw a Dite hanging from the harness.

“So what’s the reason? Work at the Mechanical Department or is it ‘that’?”

“Uh, work’s ok. It’s surprisingly good.”

Layfon  got up slowly and took a bite of the bread from the bag. The dryness of  the bread was uncomfortable. He inserted the straw into the packet of  milk that was in the same bag.

“So it’s training? Was it hard?”

Mifi took out another packet of milk from her paper bag and inserted a straw into it.

The  three girls sat down in the chairs around him. He smiled bitterly and  sucked milk from the straw to wet the inside of his mouth.

“It’s training for the upcoming platoon match, right? That must be exhausting,’ Naruki nodded.

“……Platoon match?”

“Ah,  I know. I heard about it before, but I've forgotten, so I’m not really  sure,” Mifi raised the same question as Mei-Shen. Naruki started her  explanation.

As for Layfon--

(Naruki speaks like a senpai. Do all female soldiers speak like that?)

Thinking of this, Layfon didn’t take in anything being said around him.

“I’ve  talked about the platoon matches before. They’re to determine the ranks  of platoons. The higher your rank is, the more important a position  you’ll get in the Military Arts Competition.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Of  course. That means your abilities are acknowledged. Besides, you can  really do something for the people in the city. It’s something for  Military Arts people to take pride in.”

The way she put it felt like it had nothing to do with what she was talking about.

“But isn’t that dangerous? If it was me, I wouldn’t have chosen to come to such a dangerous place.”

“That’s  coz you’re thinking of it from the angle of Military Arts. For example,  if you get to run a magazine, you’ll also do what you can to get good  results, right?”

“Oh, I see.”

“If it’s Mei-Shen, you’ll also do your best in your cake shop, right?”

“……Yeah.”

They both understood now.

“To  get good marks in your specialized area isn’t just about dignity, but  also about the evaluation of strength. In strategic planning, you’ve got  to really know your own strengths. Like whose ability is the best,  which platoon excels, those kinds of things. So the best way to get a  better understanding of all that is to create real war-like situations,  meaning, the platoon matches.”

“So it’s to determine who is the strongest? That sounds like a little kids’ fight.”

Layfon  couldn’t help but agree with Mifi. Who is the strongest? Thinking how  he got himself involved in this meaningless ranking fight, he couldn’t  swallow his bread.

“The matches aren’t conducted in the  manner of knockout matches. The purpose isn’t to see who wins the most  matches, so you can’t really tell which team is the strongest. Still, we  can’t deny that some people really care about the matches. The match is  time limited, and with that, you can judge the strength and precision  of the teams. If a platoon wins, it’ll get prize money, just like how  you get scholarship if you regularly take top place in the General  Studies’ test.

“A topic not related to me has appeared.”

Mifi puffed up her face, and the two other girls smiled. Layfon also laughed.

“…… Is training hard?” Mei-Shen asked cautiously with anxiety in her eyes. 

“Yeah, um~~”

They’d  know even if he denied it, but it looked pretty bad to admit so  honestly, so he could only substitute with some vague wordings. Men  really are proud creatures. This saddened him. He could only smile  bitterly.

“Aa, Layton isn’t training coz he likes it,  so you don’t have to force yourself to train so hard! It’s best to just  pretend, since training is tiring,” Mifi concluded, after finishing her  third packet of milk. Mei-Shen also nodded. Only Naruki was silently  nibbling at her bread and eyeing Layfon suspiciously.

He didn’t train because he liked it.

That  was the truth. He didn’t like Military Arts anymore. No, seriously, he  had never liked Military Arts. It was something he had already lost.

It was the same as how one couldn’t repeat his past and regain what was lost. 

Wolfstein.  Layfon’s title that the Student President used, was also one of the  things he had lost. It was not possible to get it back.

The Student President was seeking what could not be taken back.

And, the Nina who knew nothing of it.

“……That’s right.”

Layfon returned his attention to the room. 

“Oh, yes.”

“Huh?” from Mifi. In her hand was a fourth packet of milk.

“Do you just drink milk for lunch?”

Mifi angrily conveyed her need to overcome the disadvantage of her body. She gave him quite a thrashing.


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Nina’s impatient gaze stabbed his face.

Even  so, he couldn’t help it. In the battleground reserved for Military Arts  students, Layfon held the restored Dite in his hands, a feeling of  directionless uncertainty rising inside him.

Harley had  adjusted a sword of green Dite for him. The long,thin blade emitted a  teal light. For he who was hiding in the bushes, the gem-like light of  the blade made him stand out too much.

He leaned  against the trunk of a tree and controlled his breathing. His heartbeat  had to be regular, or else the training machine would detect the  irregularity and attack him.

The irritation of a plan  gone wrong was scolding Layfon. Though he didn’t feel that he was  responsible in any way, he was the only one here. Both Felli and Harley  were waiting for orders in the rear.

Since meeting the Electronic Fairy Zuellni at the Mechanical Department, Layfon had not seen a smile on Nina’s face.

Sharnid  was the first reason behind her irritation. He was late for training.  He totally ignored her harsh reproach and didn’t even reflect on his  actions. All he did was utter a casual “sorry” with dissatisfaction and  Restore his weapon.

Sharnid’s weapon was a sniper  rifle. On top of the light and white Dite was a large scope. It’d be  impossible to avoid the automatic machine’s attack without Sharnid’s  support.

Layfon still felt uneasy. 

He had no idea what Sharnid’s range was. The breathing irregularity could be because of that. He relaxed his breath.

Next was the unease that came from his uncertainty of the enemy’s location.

The  last team member, Felli, was responsible for intelligence support. The  doll-like, silver-haired, beautiful girl used a half-transparent staff  that was made of heavy alloy. The staff was made up of things that  looked like flakes which were scattered when the staff was in operation.

Felli  had the power of psychokinesis. She could move things with her mind.  Through psychokinesis, she could scatter the flakes over large areas to  obtain intelligence and convey the information to her team members.

“Two responses at point 1005.”

Felli’s  light and faint voice sounded through Layfon’s earpiece. This was also  an item using Felli’s psychokinesis, so it was harder for enemies to  eavesdrop. 

Without exchanging glances, Layfon and Nina  rushed out of the bushes. An arm smashed suddenly into the place where  the two had been hiding, then a robot shaped like a barrel with a wooden  knife fitted onto its wrist was spraying red paint everywhere.

“Too  slow!” Nina called as she retreated. After collecting herself, she  lashed out at the machine with her iron whips, and Layfon headed for the  other automatic machine was that still in hidden from sight. He moved  out of the shadow of the trees to make himself a target so Nina could  concentrate on her fight.

As if to answer his  prediction, the other robot was about to swing down its weapon. The fake  wooden axe chopped down towards Layfon’s head. He took a step back and  felt the passing of air at the tip of his nose.

Unexpectedly,  he got himself into a fight with another machine. The enemy type was a  distance-fighting type. Layfon “uh"-ed at that fact and dipped his head  to avoid the axe. 

Distracted by another long-range  attack from somewhere, and observing Nina suppressing her opponent,  Layfon was unable to make an attack.

Noticing his  situation, she called angrily into her transmitter, “Still haven’t found  it yet, sniper?” While calling, she knocked off the colored wooden  knife and struck the machine with her other iron whip.

Now  that Nina had won, Layfon didn’t know what to do next. Should he lead  the enemy to her and fight it together, knowing he couldn’t block the  fire from the other enemy? No, Nina would become the target of the  enemy, and besides, he didn't have the confidence to work with her. In  addition, once the captain was defeated, they’d lose the match, so he  must take care not to involve her in more danger……Confusion caused  Layfon’s movement to slow down. He did avoid the axe, but the way he did  it looked so ridiculous that even he was angry about it.

He’d lost his balance. 

At that moment, Nina headed straight for him. Perhaps she thought he couldn’t avoid the next strike. He felt the same.

And this was when the long-distance shot came.

The bell signaling the end of the match rang through the air.



Spattered  with mud and paint, Nina walked in front, looking displeased. Everyone  was tired. The scene had now moved to the Resting Room. With both wrists  on his knees, Layfon sat tiredly on a chair, looking at the floor.  Sharnid laid down on a bench, his eyes covered by a towel. Felli was the  only one with a calm expression. She had let down her hair and was  combing it.

[[image:CSR vol01 117.jpg|thumb]]

Nina stood before them all, watching them. Anger came through.

“We  just formed the platoon a short while ago, so I understand we can’t yet  coordinate well. I clearly understand that,” Nina sighed, and relaxed  her shoulders.

Then she asked each person:

“Sharnid, why didn’t you cover Layfon?”

“It’s  not that easy to avoid shooting your own teammate. It’s not possible  with the kind of coordination we’re aiming for, if we can’t even breathe  on the same beat! To do that, Layfon has to accurately sense the timing  of my shot and move accordingly. Shooting a comrade who’s in an intense  fight with the enemy scares me,” Sharnid waved his hand.

“Really?” She looked at Layfon.

“Layfon, why didn’t you lead the enemy to me?”

“If the captain fell then we’d have lost. I could act as bait and draw out the enemy.”

“You should have let me make that decision.”

“Yes, but there wasn’t time.”

Another enemy was attacking him at close range, so he didn’t have the leisure to wait for her order.

“Felli, your searching speed was too slow. Couldn’t you be faster?”

“That was my limit.”

Felli’s  reply was unusually cold. Her refusal to respond was like a whip across  Nina’s face. Would she howl out in anger? That thought tensed Layfon’s  shoulders, but Nina remained silent, glaring at Felli.

Who  knew how long this silence would last? Embarrassment and disapproval  were thick in the air. Though he felt suffocated, he didn’t feel like  breaking that atmosphere.

He was already exhausted.

But……

“Excuse me……”

Harley walked in without knocking. He immediately noticed the atmosphere and halted his steps.

“What’s up?” Nina glared at him.

“Ah……ahah,  I came to help Layfon with his setting of the Dite,” he replied,  scratching his head. Perhaps speaking up helped him to make up his mind.  Harley carried his box to a chair and opened it.

“Since  he’s used it for a few days, I think I can get some detailed settings  done. If anyone else feels your weapon needs adjusting, you can let me  know.”

“No~~ nothing!” Sharnid sat up slowly.

“Harley’s settings are perfect. That I can be so relaxed is all thanks to you.”

“Mine’s ok,” Felli shook her head.

“Really? That’s great. Nina?”

“No. If there’s a need, I’ll let you know.”

“Sure.”

What  happened next was just the sound of gears being laid out on the floor.  In this very short period of time, everyone was watching Harley’s  movement. He definitely felt their weird gazes, but Harley started to  whistle happily.

The atmosphere became more relaxed.

No, perhaps they were only tired of the embarrassment.

“Well……”

Sharnid picked up his bag.

“Where are you going?”

“The  training’s finished, right? Even if we’re going to have a meeting,  there’s not much to talk about. I’ll go back after a shower. Got a date  afterwards.”

“What!”

“Then I’m also leaving,” Felli said, quietly taking her bag.

“Aaaah, Felli’s not gonna wash away your sweat?”

“I don’t sweat as much……Besides, showering here makes me feel like someone’s peeking at me.”

“Haha, what a shame. If Felli doesn’t grow up more, no one will peek at you.”

Ignoring Sharnid’s teasing, Felli left the room. He shrugged and headed for the shower room.

With  his head on his hands, Layfon watched Nina standing there. He had  nothing to say to her. Her shoulders were trembling. Even so, he  couldn’t escape as Harley had already caught him.

But  he felt he couldn’t stay silent anymore. Focusing on the gears, Harley  seemed oblivious to his surroundings. Nina’s face showed she didn’t know  how to end this awkwardness.

“Um……” Layfon made some noise without knowing what to say.

“We have to practice a formation. You come over when you’re done.”

Nina walked out. The irritating sound of the door closing affected the air of the room.

“……Looking at that face of hers, it’d be good if she calmed down a bit,” Harley said, smiling.

Layfon smiled in return. 

“Seriously, Nina can act calmly, but she’s impatient now. That can’t be helped.”

His face full of smiles, Harley wrapped a wire around Layfon’s Dite.

“Senpai really understands her.”

“Kind of. We’re childhood friends.”

“Oh……Huh? But I remember Senpai……”

She said she ran away from home.

“Haha, ran away from home? Do you think she wouldn’t know anybody at the place she ran away to?” Harley said cheerfully. 

That was true.

“Uh, that’s true. Why didn't I think of that?”

But  on second thought, he knew the reason. Nina came here against her  parent's wishes. Such strong determination gave off a proud and lonely  air.

So he felt she didn’t know anyone here.

The other reason was that he didn’t know anyone here from Grendan.

(Ah, so that’s why. Her situation’s different from mine.)

After  laughing secretly at himself, Layfon forgot his misunderstanding of  Nina. Besides, the other three girls that he knew also came from the  same city. He felt helpless with his slow intuition.

As  per Harley’s instruction, he restored his Dite. The wire around the  Dite conveyed its information to the machine. He asked Harley a  question, who was looking at the number on the display.

“Why did senpai want to form a platoon?”

“Do you find it hard to believe?”

“Senpai’s  only a third year, isn’t she? I heard that most of the platoon captains  are fourth year or above. Hasn’t she still got time?”

“Yeah,  if you look at the study years, then there’s still time,” Harley  nodded. “But who knows whether this city still has time.”

His fingers flying on the keyboard, Harley asked, “You know right? You should have heard of it from the Student President.”

“Yes.”

“He said it was to make us more alert of danger, but he did all that to increase our fighting strength.”

“Is that it?”

“That’s right, but I don’t think that’s all of it. He’s stubborn.”

“……”

“Ah, let’s leave the Student President aside for now.”

Harley  clapped his hands, pulling Layfon back into reality. His face had  turned green just by remembering the nasty memories about the Student  President.

“The time Nina spends here is important to her. You should know since you heard of her running away.”

Layfon nodded. Nina had said that she wanted to see what a majority of people couldn’t see: the world outside the city.

“That’s  a precious experience. Yes, it’s a precious experience to come to a  city run by students only, but it’s even more precious an experience to  understand the outside world. A lot of people can never experience  that.”

Even so, there were numerous Academy Cities,  enough to conduct the Military Arts Competition – the same type of  cities fought for fuel. In other words, this was the proof that the city  had enough number of students.

This told Layfon that there were more humans than he thought.

But  a majority of people would never see each other. Even Layfon didn’t  know everyone at Grendan. Grendan had a population of about a hundred  thousand people.

But if people lived in the same city  and wanted to meet up, they could. Perhaps if they desired to see each  other, even with the filth monsters roaming the earth, they could see  the person of another city. But he couldn’t place the level of  difficulty of those two types of meeting side by side. 

It's rare to get on a roaming bus just to see another city.

It's extremely taxing to travel to another city, and it's dangerous.

Numerous  cities spread across the earth like stars, moving back and forth in an  isolated world. Thinking of this, it felt so unbelievably hard to  comprehend that it confounded him.

“People might have never met, but we were given the chance to meet here. Don’t you find that interesting?”

“……”

“Nina doesn’t want to lose that experience, so she’d try everything within her power. Nina’s the type of person to act.”

“So please don’t hate her too much,” Harley added.

Layfon didn’t think he hated her.

Afterward,  he headed alone for the training complex – in the direction of where he  thought the training room was. It didn’t take him long to arrive as it  was close to the battleground.

Layfon felt a heavy  weight on his shoulders as he neared the entrance of the training  complex. He wasn’t sure whether there was a weight. No, he knew he had a  burden there. He just didn’t want to realize that it was on him.

If  they lost in this Military Arts Competition, the city would lose its  fuel source. In other words, the city’s consciousness that he came  across at the Mechanical Department – that cute Electric Fairy would  face its death.

What a tragic thing.

But  he couldn’t really feel that happening. Just like the clear scene  reflected in the glassy surface of the door to the training complex, he  felt that it was happening in another city. He couldn’t comprehend the  fact that what he did would have a direct impact on the life and death  of the city.

He went through the door and headed for  the training room of platoon 17. The sounds of practice from other  training rooms made the entire building tremble. The building was  designed to contain the varied powers of the Military Arts students, but  it didn’t seem to have good soundproofing.

“Isn’t it time to give up?”

He heard this just as he was about to open to the door to the training room of platoon 17.

He stopped.

There were other students in the room besides Nina.

Three  males surrounded her. The tension in the air caressed Layfon’s skin.  His wrist moved towards his weapon harness on its own.

Nina’s  arms were lowered. She held her restored iron whips tightly. She stared  at the three students with an icy gaze, hiding her emotions.

The conversation continued. No one seemed to have noticed Layfon.

“You should know now that it’s not easy to form a platoon,” the person standing right in front of Nina said.

“And  your members are…… Sharnid, who can’t coordinate well with his ability,  and two others that the Student President forced into Military Arts.  Morale itself is already a problem. Do you really think you can form a  team with those people and lead them in battle? If that’s the case, then  you’re looking down on Military Arts.”

The target  person wasn’t him, but Layfon felt pressure bearing down into his  stomach. This was an intimidation technique using the Internal type Kei.  It was the opposite of External type burst Kei. The Internal type Kei  could directly affect one's body.

The voice with Kei made Nina tremble.

“Let  me say this for the last time. Join our team, Nina Antalk. The 3rd  platoon needs your calm judgement and hard defence. Besides, you only  need to be in our team to become strong.”

Nina’s shoulders were shaking, but her eyes showed she was not afraid and threatened.

She didn’t look at the hand stretching towards her. She stared right in the eyes of the young man.

“I thank you for your invitation. Let me thank you deeply for giving me such high evaluation,” she said firmly.

“But  if I still want to test my ability. No matter how badly I look in  others’ eyes, I still want to test myself through my own strength.”

Her  resolute answer tightened up atmosphere again. This time it wasn’t the  person before – probably the captain of the 3rd platoon, but the other  two people.

Layfon held his breath.

The captain of the 3rd platoon sighed.

“I knew you’d give me that answer.”

He relaxed his shoulders. The other two also lowered their hostility.

“I feel you’re wasting your ability…… really, why did the Student President accept your unreasonable team proposal?”

“Sorry.”

“There’s no need to apologize. It’s not a bad thing for the city if you become stronger.”

“But, I hope you understand that this city doesn’t have the time to watch you grow.”

“…… I understand.”

“Good.”

The captain shrugged, turned from Nina, and walked away. As there was only one exit, Layfon quickly moved aside. 

The captain left wordlessly, not even looking at him. 

The door closed.

Nina’s  gaze pierced through Layfon to the closed door. She didn’t notice his  presence. Layfon was painfully aware that he wasn’t in her line of  sight.

She wasn’t looking at him.

(Ahah, she’s looking at the other side.)

It was the side of the glass.

He felt he had lost his place there.

Of course, even he felt it was too rich a line coming from him.

Wolfstein – He should have understood the moment he abandoned this title and left Grendan. 

So he could pretend the pain in his chest was someone else’s.

Then he could view it as something beautiful.

“Come, Layfon. Time to practice.”

Nina’s  line of vision moved to him. There were no traces of confusion in her  expression. No traces left of her conversation with the captain of the  3rd platoon.

“Yes,” Layfon nodded and hurried to her side.

But the feeling of standing on the other side of the glass didn’t disappear. 

He knew this was a feeling of distance. 

“I  know there are plenty of opportunities for us to fight together, but we  can’t even talk about that if we don’t first coordinate our breathing.”

Those firm looking pupils of hers.

The  Kei filling her limbs gave off a painful light from her eyes. This had  nothing to do with the quality and weight of her Kei, but with her firm  and determined personality.

It was beautiful.

To Layfon, it was as beautiful as a painting.

That was why she stood on the other side of the glass. 

Layfon Restored his Dite.


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The  sun sank down in the west. The complex closing time came, and saved  Layfon from Nina’s side. After washing off his sweat, he plodded back to  his dormitory……

“Layton sighted! Capture him!”

“Roger, capturing him now.”

Mifi’s shrill voice and Naruki’s lowered voice vibrated through his exhausted body.

Next……

“What? Huh?”

When he had collected himself, he was already tied up by a rope. When did that happen? He toppled onto the ground. 

“We’ve caught the target. Please give your next order.”

“Parade him around the city.”

“Roger.”

“Hey, stop it!”

“Huh~~”

Layfon calmly intruded. Mifi puffed up her cheeks.

“Uh, that can’t be done. Speaking of which, how come he became like this?”

“That’s my rope-capture technique, passed down by my father. Isn’t it incredible?” Naruki said.

“Brilliant. It’s too brilliant. But why so sudden? I don’t understand what’s happening!”

“Oh, I’m just doing it. I’m not sure myself.”

“Just doing it? And what’s with the rope? Do you carry it with you all the time?”

“As someone who wants to join the police force, it’s a must to carry around a rope all the time.”

“Is that a given?” Layfon asked, but failed to sway Naruki’s confidence. 

“So what’s this for?” he asked, looking at Mifi and Naruki.

“Oh? I said we were going to drink tea, so we waited here for you.”

“I see…… but why this?”

“Just doing it.”

“Fufufu ~~ I knew Layton doesn’t have to work today. Don’t underestimate Mifi’s intelligence.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t refuse you. Before I got the chance to refuse, I was like this.”

“Ok ok. Stop talking. We’ve invited a special guest today.”

[[image:CSR vol01 133.jpg|thumb]]

They didn’t listen to his words. Mifi pushed a person out from Naruki’s shadow. 

He thought it was Meishen.

But…… no.

“…… Felli senpai?”

“I got caught,” she said without any expression. She was also bound by a rope.

They spaced out like that for a while…

“Hey--!!  What were you guys doing!?” Layfon looked around. Luckily, there was no  one around but them. He wondered how long those two girls had been  hiding here, waiting to ambush them.

“Because ~~ I’ve wanted to talk with her since I saw her.”

“No, I’m saying why did you use this method? It’s a bit extreme. Um, it’s like kidnapping from the perspective of an observer.”

“……She’s the younger sister of the Student President.”

“Meaning……We can get a huge ransom, right?” Mifi asked seriously.

“……”

“……”

Layfon and Mifi looked at each other……

“Police, there’s a kidnapper here.”

“OK, I'll catch her right away.”

In the next moment, Naruki had also tied up Mifi.



“I just wanted to have dinner with everyone!” 

After Mifi had surrendered, Naruki untied everyone. The four of them headed for the busier district of the city.

“Mei-chi’s  got work today, so we’re waiting for her to finish, and might as well  enter the “observe Mei-chi’s working look” plan.”

“A plan?” Layfon said.

Mifi laughed. 

“Well, can you imagine her appearance at work?”

“……That’s a bit difficult.”

It was hard to imagine Meishen working. She was so shy.

“Right? This’ll be my first time seeing her at work. I'm really looking forward to it.”

Mifi skipped on the red bricked path. 

“It’s good she’s taking the initiative, but I feel a bit lonely now,” Naruki said, shrugging her shoulders.

“……Have you three known each other for long?”

“Yeah, we were neighbors.”

“Our parents knew each other for a long time too, from their birth.”

“Amazing……”  Layfon honestly showed his admiration. He also had a group of childhood  friends from the orphanage, but none of them came to Zuellni.

“You three must be very close, coming here together.”

“Yeah~ It's fate.”

“Yeah.”

“Yes,  we won’t feel lonely even if we’re in an unfamiliar place. Our parents  agree with that,” Mifi said, and started a conversation about the past  with Naruki. Unable to enter the conversation, Layfon kept a distance  between them.

Felli was beside him. Silently walking, she stared at the backs of the two girls.

“……Sorry for forcing you to come with us.”

“……It’s ok.”

She didn’t move her gaze away from the backs of the two girls.

“The rope seemed fun.”

“……Was it fun?”

“Yes,”  Felli replied, not even moving her eyebrows. Layfon didn’t understand  what she was thinking. But it was good that she didn’t get mad. He let  out a sigh.

Felli was walking lightly with her hands  behind her back. Looking at her childish appearance, he couldn’t imagine  that she was older than him. She was older, but her age difference  didn’t stand out at all because she was only one year apart. But  comparing her with Mifi and Naruki, she looked even younger than them.

“Uh, is senpai working too?”

“No.”

“……I see.”

He  couldn’t think of what to say. Even his question was blocked. He knew  nothing of her. Unlike Mifi and the others, Felli wasn’t the type to  divert with a conversation so long as the atmosphere was right.

“……Just keep doing that.” Felli said as he was thinking of what to say.

“Huh?”

“I meant during training. Just keep doing that.”

“Why?”

“Don't you want to avoid fighting?” The honest and direct question made him speechless.

“If you perform well without the will to fight, other people will have expectations of you.”

“……I suppose,” he nodded.

“It’s ridiculous to do what you don’t want to do.”

Meaning Felli also hadn’t used her true ability in training. The same as him.

He  now understood why he was so tired. He couldn’t escape the place he  wanted to leave. This feeling took a lot of his strength. He made  unnecessary moves because of a lack of concentration, which in turn  wasted a lot of his strength.

“Why do I feel as if there's no other road to take?”

He didn’t want to, but he had to. All he could do to resist this was to not put his all in training.

And because of that, he was tired.

“Even  so, I have to resist this way. As long as I’m in the Academy City, I  can’t escape my brother. Unless he lets me go, I’ve no other choice.”

“…… Do you dislike your own brother?”

He might have asked a meaningless question. She did say she hated him before. But perhaps “dislike” and “hate” were different. 

“I dislike him. He doesn’t care about me at all.”

Layfon  had nothing to say. Walking beside her gave him an urge to find  something to talk about, but she didn’t care about ending a conversation  abruptly.

The two girls walking before them had arrived at the shop. They waved back at them.



“……You’re so mean.”

“Never mind. You look cute.”

Mifi was calm in the face of Meishen’s reproachful gaze.

They  moved from the coffee shop that Meishen worked at into another nearby  shop. In here, senior students were permitted to drink alcohol. Dishes  of BBQ skewers and vegetables lay before Layfon and his friends.

Naruki nodded in a serious manner as she put the bamboo sticks back into the bamboo container: 

“Yeah, you’re cute. Are you making fun of me because I can’t wear it?”

“……Of course not.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Meishen’s cheeks puffed up at Naruki’s flippant tone.

When  Layfon and the three girls entered the coffee shop earlier, Meishen had  stood still on her spot, her face turning green. And whether it was  fortunate or not, there were no other female waitresses before break  time other than Meishen. Layfon felt bad for her. She was shaking like a  small animal while ordering her meal, but Mifi teased her happily.

“But Mei-chi really is cute, isn’t she, Layton?”

“Um?”

He thought back of her look in the coffee shop.

The modest and deep blue uniform in itself wasn’t cute at all, but the Meishen hiding her face behind the tray was cute.

He gave his honest opinion, and Meishen lowered her head, her cheeks red as of boiled water. 

“Yeah, yeah, Layton. Well done, you unfaithful~~”

“Why?”

“It’s a high level skill to praise the person in question along with the uniform.”

“……Mi-chan, Nakki, I’ll get mad.”

The three girls argued in their own styles. Layfon sighed and turned his gaze to Felli. 

She was silently eating a skewer of BBQ chicken.

She  didn’t seem to want to talk. She put the stick back into the bamboo  container and examined the dish, thinking of what to eat next like a  mathematician tackling a challenging question.

(Here’s another small animal.)

Frankly, her sober eating expression was also cute.

Layfon nibbled at one end of the batter-fried vegetable stems as he listened to the conversation of the three girls.

“Aah, let’s stop teasing Mei-chi. The cake over there was delicious.”

“……Right?”

“It wasn't too sweet. I get why Mei-chi loves that shop. Well, how’s it going? Are they teaching you things?”

“……Not sure. Seems they’ll teach me later. Really, I’ve always wanted to just stay in the kitchen.”

“Since you showed them your cute look, of course they’d send you out to serve customers.”

“……Mi-chan!”

“Yeah,  yeah, yeah. Um, according to my investigation, no matter which shop it  is, it’ll prioritize students getting into the kitchen if they've had  real cooking experience.”

“That’s insurance. It guarantees the students must have some level of skill.”

“But it takes at least half a year to get marks.”

“……Wuwu, half a year.”

“Can Mei-chi tolerate half a year as a waitress?”

“……No problem. I’ll steal the recipe.”

“Hahaha, what an audacious declaration.”

“……Never mind me. What about you two?”

“Me~~? I've already decided.”

“A magazine?”

“Yeah, though it’s mostly doing errands. Nakki?”

“I’m going to join the City Police force. There’re lots of Military Arts candidates, so I can’t let down my guard.”

“Oh, if you join the police force, then can you get an armed permit earlier?”

“Yes, but you can only carry a baton.”

“Fufufu……But aren’t you happy? You’re really jealous of Layton’s sword~~,”

“Not at all. I just want it because a baton is the pride of a policeman.”

“You really are!”

Layfon was listening to the three. Even here he felt he was very distant from them. Nothing could help him.

Because he stood on the other side of the glass.

He could hear the sound, but he couldn’t step inside it. He squinted at the three, unable to enter that cheerful territory.

There was no chance to speak.

The party ended as the closing hour of dormitories neared.



Student  dormitories were spread out across the city. After separating from  Naruki and the others since their dormitories lay in a different  direction, Layfon found himself heading in the same direction as Felli.

“……Is senpai going in this direction too?”

“Yes, what a coincidence.”

Layfon nodded. It was that much of a surprise to him.

“Senpai didn’t enter the conversation back then. I’m sorry for being insensitive.”

In  the end, he himself passed through that time without speaking. He  couldn’t speak up as a special atmosphere encircled the conversation  that only familiarity would allow.

Felli shook her head at the apologizing Layfon. “Not at all. I was happy.”

“Really? That’s good.”

It was hard to conclude whether she was truly happy as her face showed no emotion at all.

They  alone walked on the path lit by street lights. Layfon felt awkward  about it. The sound of footsteps that was usually small and  insignificant drifted into their ears.

“I don’t talk, not because I’m not satisfied,” Felli said suddenly.

“Ah, really?”

“I  didn’t know what to say because I haven’t had any friends before,”  Felli said as she walked past a street light. Layfon glanced at her but  couldn’t make out her expression.

Just then, sparks fell from her silvery hair to scatter the dim light. He widened his eyes.

“Senpai!”

“Oh, sorry. I lost control for a little bit.”

She  pressed down on her long hair with her hand. Green phosphorescence  gathered in her hair, emitting a dull light. Unresponsive and without  any heat. Only the tiniest bit of vibration in the air that Layfon could  feel with his left wrist.

This was psychokinesis. It  was the external type burst Kei and the internal type Kei, but at the  same time, it was different from both. It was an inborn ability, a type  of Kei flowing in the body that training would never obtain. 

He watched her closely. Even her eyebrows and eyelashes emitted phosphorescence. 

Hair was the best conductor for the Kei of psychokinesis. There were people who conveyed their Kei to whips made by hair.

(She lost control of it?)

That  was shocking. Just that and her hair could emit the light of  psychokinesis to the tips of each strand of hair. This meant her ability  of psychokinesis was inconceivably powerful.

“Senpai……”

“……This is the reason that my brother transferred me into Military Arts,” she said. 

“My ability of psychokinesis goes way beyond the normal standard.”

“I think so too.”

Layfon  had also seen psychokinesis phenomenon of glowing hair, but it was only  one part of the hair. He had never seen a case like Felli’s, whose  whole hair shone without her being aware of it. 

“Because  of this, I’ve received training in psychokinesis since I was very  small. Everyone in my family strongly believed I’d become a  psychokinesist. Even I never doubted it.”

“But……” she added. Layfon could feel her shaky emotions.

He was right. The trembling on her lips was different from that of normal conversation.

“I  thought that everyone’s future was predestined. I thought that they all  knew what they’d become in the future. But this was wrong. Of course,  it’s not possible for a criminal to know he can only become a criminal.”

She  didn’t laugh at her words. She only said it without much of an emotion.  Perhaps this was meant as a joke. Since he wasn’t sure, Layfon decided  not to laugh.

“Once I realized that, I tried to think  of what I’d be doing if I wasn't a psychokinesist. No one knows their  future, but mine was determined from when I was very young. I became  intolerant of that, and eventually left my home city to come here.”

Her parents took a huge step back for her and allowed her to study at her brother’s Academy City – Zuellni.

“My  parents thought it wouldn’t matter much if I didn’t get to train in  psychokinesis for six years. I also thought I could find the other me,  the me who wouldn’t become a psychokinesist.”

But she was unable to do that.

Because of Zuellni’s present situation and the person who tried to solve the crisis – her brother.

“I hate my brother. I hate my brother who forced me on the path of psychokinesis,” she murmured.

Layfon  listened to her silently. He couldn’t hear any emotions in her light  tone, but he felt she felt confined, as if a certain being was under  pressure and was crying out sorrowfully.

“And I hate myself for only becoming a psychokinesist.”

Because of her exceptional ability, she couldn’t escape her destiny. 

“Those kinds of people are too radiant,” she murmured.

Layfon could only nod in agreement.

Because he felt the same.


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