Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume12 Chapter8

==Chapter 8 - Great Festival of the Spirits==

===Part 1===

&mdash;Kamito... Where are you, Kamito?

(...?)

A voice came from the darkness.

A girl's voice, sounding as though it might disppear any moment.

(...Who, are you?)

Amidst darkness so dark that he could not even see underfoot, Kamito gingerly reached out.

This was like wandering in a wilderness of memories.

This was a dream. Simply his subconscious unease manifesting in the form of a dream.

While walking towards the voice, Kamito calmly reached his conclusion.

(But&mdash;)

Kamito continued to think. Retaining the ability for lucid thought even in dreams was part of the most basic training taught by the «Instructional School».

Rather than a dream, it was more like his mind moving through his subconscious&mdash;

(...There might be clues to my memories.)

Reaching on in the darkness at this time, he suddenly felt a sharp pain.

The «Spirit Seal» branded on his right hand gave off light.

&mdash;Kamito... Do you hear... my voice?

The seal's glow slightly illuminated the surrounding darkness.

In his view, straight ahead&mdash;A girl could be seen chained up.

"...!?"

Unimaginably beautiful, a girl with silver-white hair.

Her pale, white, nude body appeared in the darkness.

(...That's my contracted spirit?)

Terminus Est&mdash;Literally the strongest sword spirit, crowned with the title of the «Demon Slayer».

But in contrast to her title, she looked so fragile and delicate in appearance.

She looked like she would shatter like glass with a single touch of the finger.

With some hestation, Kamito stopped walking.

The darkness in the surroundings began to move and gradually swallowed the girl's nude body.

"...Est...!"

In that instant, Kamito cried out the girl's name, forgetting it was a dream.

He called out the name of the contracted spirit that had been erased from his memory.

However, when he stepped forward, his feet sank into dark mud.

Like that, he gradually sank.

"...Wait... up...!"

Reaching out furiously, his finger touched the girl's hand slightly.

Suddenly, her thoughts seemed to be transmitted to him, using their point of contact as a bridge.

&mdash;Kamito, I am waiting here.

&mdash;Waiting for you, Kamito, to return after fulfilling ''her'' promise.

===Part 2===

"...Seriously, you dreamt of Est?"

"Yeah. No mistake about it... I think."

When dawn came, on the day of the «Great Festival of the Spirits»&mdash;

While walking on the path to the secondary block, Kamito told Claire the dream he had this morning.

When he woke up, he found no change in his condition.

His memories remain lost.

But the pain he felt in his right hand seemed like a lingering part of the dream.

(...Perhaps it's the result of Lurie's treatment last night.)

Kamito pondered.

"Connecting to the contracted spirit through dreams is quite common. I often share Scarlet's dreams. Like dreams about pigging out on canned tuna."

"M-Meow&mdash;"

While walking by her side, Scarlet made sounds of protest.

"...You sure it's not a dream from your side?"

"O-Of course not..."

Claire pouted with displeasure, her face going mildly red.

But soon, she recovered a serious expression&mdash;

"...However, it seems that Est is calling for you, Kamito."

"But why doesn't she return to me?"

Kamito cast his gaze at the seal on his right hand.

"Probably due to the memory loss, your connection to the spirit is interrupted."

"...I see."

"So, what kind of dream was it?"

"Oh... Umm, a girl, completely nude, chained up in the darkness&mdash;"

"H-Hold on a sec!"

Claire suddenly stopped walking.

"Th-That dream, no way... It's an e-erotic dream... Right?"

"Completely wrong!"

"Don't be shy. K-Kamito, you're a boy of that age after all. E-Even me, I sometimes dream of being chained up&mdash;Oh no, w-what have you made me say!?"

Claire's face instantly went red and she started beating on his shoulder nonstop.

"Like I said, it wasn't like that..."

"Oh, Kamito-kun&mdash;"

Kamito heard someone calling his name from afar.

Running over was the black-haired girl in the «Divine Ritual Institute»'s uniform, Fianna.

She was originally on a hill with a massive ring of rock, surrounded by gathered princess maidens, preparing for the gate opening ritual mentioned previously.

"Kamito-kun, would you like to visit the imitation shop at the secondary block?"

"Yeah. I guess I should show up at least."

Hearing Fianna's question, Kamito answered and shrugged.

After walking Claire there, he intended to hurry over to the Knights immediately.

"Fianna, is the gate opening ritual ready?"

"Of course, Now we're just preparing the fireworks for pleasing the spirits."

"Not bad..."

Claire exclaimed honestly.

The princess was apparently one of the candidates to the continent's five «Queens», with outstanding abilities in ritual magic that far surpassed upperclassman students.

Hence, even as an underclassman, she was still appointed as the one in charge of the most important ritual.

"However, I can't say it was a walk in the park. Although the «Stone Circle»'s power is being borrowed, opening a «Gate» that allows ruler-class spirits to pass through..."

On the princess's wryly smiling face, there were heavy signs of fatigue.

She had worked continuously for this day, presumably accumulating a lot of fatigue.

"However, we're already at the final stage. It must succeed!"

As though cheering for herself, Fianna raised her arm.

Beneath her uniform, her bosom quivered as a result.

"So, Kamito-kun, you must enjoy the festival today as well!"

"Yeah."

With a flutter of her skirt, Fianna jogged back over to the hill.

"Doesn't feel like a princess somehow."

Kamito smiled wryly.

"Perhaps she stopped putting on airs a little due to being tired. She must have built up a lot of stress over these past few days. Well, a royal's position is quite troublesome too."

Hearing Kamito, Claire murmured, a little worried.

===Part 3===

In front of the secondary block, a large number of students were mixed together already.

The aroma of baked goods was coming from the imitation shop. Spirits of various forms were gathered in the surroundings. These not only included the students' contracted spirits but also visiting spirits from the nearby «Spirit Forest»... Kamito had never seen this many spirits before.

"...Wow, this bread stick smells so good, it looks quite tasty."

"Our classroom is over there."

Grabbing Claire who was wandering leisurely, Kamito frantically pulled her back.

"...~!"

Instantly, Claire's face went red.

Her wandering legs froze.

"...What's the matter?"

"Ah, uh... Umm, hand, suddenly being held..."

Her voice was almost inaudible.

At this moment, whispers started in the surroundings.

"G-Grabbing a girl's hand." "So naturally!" "Feels like he's very used to it!"

"...Oh."

Only then did Kamito react.

This was a school where rich girls attended. Holding hands with a boy was completely inconceivable.

Claire getting surprised was unavoidable.

"...S-Sorry for startling you."

Kamito frantically released her hand.

"...I-It's nothing, don't worry."

Claire's twintails swirled as she shook her head.

...Amidst this inexplicably embarrassing atmosphere, the two of them walked silently.

Walking in front, the hell cat spirit skipped up the stairs.

Students from various classes were gathered in the secondary block. It was very crowded.

Instead of wearing their uniforms, some of the girls were dressed in ritual dresses or inexplicable mascot costumes.

Walking upstairs, Kamito and Claire finally arrived at the cafe of Raven Class.

The door was beautifully decorated, looking almost like a real cafe.

Of course, given the wealth and influence wielded by these students of the Academy as daughters of noble houses, cooperating to set up a beyond first-rate  cafe was nothing impossible. However, they had been instructed to open imitation shops using their own efforts in the «Great Festival of the Spirits».

Pushing the door open&mdash;

"Oh, Kamito."

A girl dressed as a maid turned her head back to look at him.

"Welcome to the «Luna Forest» cafe!"

Rinslet Laurenfrost curtsied and greeted elegantly.

Shining platinum-blonde hair. Clear eyes of emerald. A noblewoman through and through, nevertheless, she seemed inexplicably authentic in a maid outfit.

"...As always, a maid outfit suits you very well."

"Yeah, I agree."

Kamito concurred.

"H-How rude, do know that I come from a noble family, that of a margrave's!"

...Even with a face filled with fury, while she was dressed up as a fox-eared maid, she did not seem intimidating at all.

On the table next to her, the one who was supposed to be the real maid, Carol, was gracefully having breakfast.

"Hmm~, milady's tea and roll cake are simply exquisite~♪"

"Ah, how unfair. I want to eat roll cake too."

"Claire, come here and prepare."

"W-Wait, what are you doing!"

Resisting, Claire was shoved by Rinslet over to the other side of the curtain.

"You've arrived, Claire."

"Very well, prepare yourself."

"...Huah... W-Wait a sec, what are you doing, kyah&mdash;"

Claire's suffering screams could be heard from behind the curtain.

"What a troublesome child."

Rinslet clapped her hands.

Suddenly, she turned towards Kamito.

"Speaking of which, have you had breakfast yet, Kamito-san?"

"...I need to head over to the Knights next. Sorry."

Kamito had no choice but to refuse the much wanted invitation.

Eating breakfast here would mean being late for the «Sylphid Knights»' morning meeting.

"...I-I see."

Rinslet seemed a bit disappointed, her shoulders slumping.

"Sorry. How about next time?"

"It's a promise."

Hearing that, her mood soon recovered and she smiled.

At this moment, the classroom's door opened&mdash;

"Hi, Onee-sama... Onii-sama too!"

Dressed in a blue one-piece dress, an eight or nine-year-old girl was speaking.

She had blonde hair like Rinslet and a very cute girl at that.

No matter how you looked, she did not seem to be a student at the Academy.

Kamito was thinking she was lost in the Academy&mdash;

(Just now, she called me her older brother...)

In the classroom, Kamito was the only male present.

The girl's eyes of emerald were gazing straight at Kamito:

"Onii-sama♪"

"...Uh, you're talking about me?"<ref>Note: Kamito went back to using ''boku'' here.</ref>

Unable to hide his bafflement, Kamito pointed at himself.

Accidentally, he switched back to using his old manner of self-referral.

Suddenly, the girl skipped over and hugged him.

"...!?"

"Onii-sama, what's the matter?"

The girl cocked her head in puzzlement.

"Uh, 'Onii-sama'... means me?"

Kamito had some idea of a girl who called him her older brother. However, this girl here was not the «Instructional School»'s Muir Alenstarl.

"Mireille, stop giving Kamito-san a hard time."

Rinslet grabbed the girl by the ear.

"...~Onee-sama, what are you doing?"

"Onee-sama?"

"This child is Mireille Laurenfrost. My younger sister."

Rinslet held her temptle as she introduced.

"...Sister?"

Kamito looked at the young girl again.

...They did not look quite similar.

She was probably going to grow up into a beauty like her sister.

"But why do you call me Onii-sama?"

Mireille Laurenfrost proudly puffed out her tiny chest.

"Onee-sama is Onii-sama's future wife. So that makes me Onii-sama's younger sister."

"...W-Wife!?"

"W-W-W-What are you talking about!?"

Thud thud thud.

Blushing to her ears, Rinslet hammered her fists against Mireille's back.

On the other hand, Kamito shuddered at the latest revelations.

The Fahrengart daughter was his fiancee. He had experienced intimate skin contact with the imperial princess. Now, the Margrave Laurenfrost's daughter was his future wife&mdash;

(...Kazehaya Kamito, who the heck are you!?)

Kamito was having an increasingly tough time understanding who he was before he had lost his memory.

...No wonder he was called the king of lust.

At this moment&mdash;

"Mireille, do not cause trouble for milady and Kamito."

A calm voice came from somewhere.

"...?"

Without any warning, a maid grabbed the young girl by the back of her collar.

She was probably thirteen or fourteen in age.

Dressed in another school's uniform, she had dark-brown hair.

Most striking of her appearance was the sight of her eyes.

Heterochromia.

(...«Demon Sealing Eye»?)

Kamito soon noticed the true nature of her eyes.

Among the special ability users at the «Instructional School», there were several who possessed the same type of eye. However, none of these girls were able to suppress the spirits sealed inside and every one of them died.

"Milla, l-let go!"

Caught by the collar, Mireille struggled.

However, the girl named Milla remained unmoved.

Continuing to hold Mireille's back collar, she turned towards Kamito.

"Sorry for milady making trouble."

She bowed her head very politely.

"Uh, you are&mdash;"

...This child, was she also one of Kazehaya Kamito's acquaintainces?

Carrying this question, Kamito cast his gaze towards Rinslet&mdash;

"She is Milla Bassett, Mireille's maid."

Rinslet introduced.

"...The memory loss appears to be real."

Milla remained expressionless but her eyes lowered as though in melancholy.

"...Sorry for not remember you, uh, and Mireille&mdash;"

"Memory loss?"

Mireille tilted her head in puzzlement.

"Kamito currently has amnesia due to his injuries from the «Blade Dance». Don't cause more trouble for him."

"I see now... Sorry, Onii-sama."

After listening to Milla, Mireille reflected on her behavior.

...Although it was a bit surprising, this child was fundamentally very honest and upfront.

"By the way, Milla, what's with this way you're dressed up?"

Rinslet asked at this moment.

Kamito felt equally curious.

She was wearing what appeared to be a military uniform with red embroidery against a white background.

It did not seem like a maid uniform at all.

"Yes, because today is the «Great Festival of the Spirits», I put on my homeland's military uniform."

"Homeland?"

Hearing Kamito's question...

"The military uniform of the Principality of Rossvale."

Milla replied expressionlessly.

The Principality of Rossvale was a small country that had seceded from the Holy Kingdom of Lugia in recent years.

"Milla came from the Principality of Rossvale."

"Yes. This set of clothing was what I wore in my encounter with you, Kamito, so it has commemorative value, hence&mdash;"

Halfway through, Milla stopped speaking.

Her heterochromatic eyes stared straight at Kamito.

"Milla spent a lot of time thinking over what to wear for today, you know?"

"Mireille, that's&mdash;"

Milla's face blushed slightly.

"Also, the closet was basically filled with erotic clothing no different from underwear... Mugugu..."

Milla silently covered Mireille's mouth.

Then she glared towards Kamito&mdash;

"Kamito, Mireille is lying. There is no erotic clothing in the closet."

"G-Got it. I believe you."

Fearing Milla's mysteriously intimidating aura, Kamito nodded repeatedly.

At this moment, the curtain was forcefully opened from the changing area&mdash;

"Claire has finished changing!"

"Huaaaah, jeez, this is totally unruly!"

Turned into a cat-eared maid, Claire made her appearance.

"Claire, that looks very good on you."

"You're almost the same as a cat fairy!"

Rinslet and Carol's comments were heard.

"H-Hmph, shut up!"

Claire shyly turned her face away.

Then she glanced at Kamito.

"..."

"...W-What about you?"

"Uh, I find it quite cute."

Kamito offered his honest opinion&mdash;

"...~!"

Hearing that, Claire blushed to her ears and hid behind the curtain again.

===Part 4===

"...Oh no, I'm going to be late."

Looking at the large clock in the lecture hall&mdash;

Kamito hurried over to the church that served as the Knights' headquarters.

The Academy's grounds were very vast. Furthermore, the church's location was on the opposite side relative to the secondary block.

Originally, there were many leylines running through the school ground. He could get there quickly using divine power to power up his legs, but given the current crowded conditions, he had no choice but to walk normally.

"Oh, hurry and look, hurry and look, it's Kamito the king of lust!" "I heard that his wish for a harem was rejected by the «Elemental Lords»." "Deplorable!" "King of lust! King of lust!" "N-No, don't point at him&mdash;"

...He could hear all sorts of gossip.

Evidently, the notorious name of Kazehaya Kamito was widespread among the public.

(I-I can't believe that even such young children would...)

Hearing the little girl mumbling "king of lust" unintelligibly, Kamito was greatly shocked.

...I might as well give up and stay in amnesia, for the sake of world peace.

While evading the gathering spectating crowd, Kamito hastened his pace.

Weaving through the crowd, he finally reached the church at the outskirts of the Academy's territory.

At the church plaza, Ellis was currently giving orders to the members.

Seeing Ellis standing on a wooden crate, Kamito stopped.

(...Different from yesterday's armor?)

Beautiful, black, lustrous pauldrons. The jet-black background was reminiscent of night's darkness. Combined with white lace, it gave a very mature impression.

Faced with Ellis's getup, Kamito could not help but stare in amazement&mdash;

"&mdash;Kamito, you are late."

Ellis called out from atop the wooden crate.

"Sorry, there were more people than expected."

"...Seriously. There are even more people over at the Academy town."

Ellis shrugged then turned her gaze back to the members of the Knights.

"&mdash;Well then, final confirmation. Team Sierra and Team Diane will take the school building. Team Reishia and Team Rakka will be stationed respectively on the Academy's grounds. Team Falnesia<!--ファルネシア--> will take the «Spirit Forest». Team Froza, with the most members, will be in charge of the Academy town together with Kamito and me. Any questions?"

"&mdash;All clear!"

The knights all answered in unison then dispersed to head towards their area in charge.

Even as a student organization, they were very well-trained.

"...I still haven't gotten used to this completely."

Getting down from the wooden crate, Ellis sighed.

"My elder sister would have encouraged everyone even more."

"Really? In my view, it went quite well."

"Hmph, spare me the flattery..."

Cough cough, Ellis coughed lightly.

Her bosom shook inside her formal dress, a sight causing Kamito's heart to race uncontrollably.

"Hmm, w-where are you staring..."

Ellis glared at him.

"Uh... What's with that armor?"

Kamito frantically changed the subject. Ellis blushed in response.

"K-Kamito, are you saying you prefer yesterday's erotic armor?"

"N-No, that's not what I mean&mdash;"

"Yesterday's armor was apparently made by Rakka and Reishia as a joke. They told me that they never expected me to put it on for real&mdash;"

"...Yeah. I thought so."

Kamito understood. Even for a festival, wearing that kind of unsightly armor to patrol the streets would be too unusual.

"...What do you mean, you thought so!? So even you noticed there was something weird!?"

"No, umm..."

Confronted with the tearful and angry Ellis, Kamito averted his gaze awkwardly.

"...~Why did you not tell me!?"

"Oh, the new armor looks great on you."

"Eh&mdash;"

Kamito successfully changed the subject, causing Ellis's anger to be swept aside completely.

"...A-Are you serious?"

Her ponytail swayed this way and that.

This was a comment coming straight from his heart. Clad in mature-looking armor, Ellis looked more like a goddess ruling the winds rather than a stern and awe-inspiring knight.

"Better than the erotic armor... Yes?"

"Y-Yeah..."

Kamito nodded honestly.

"...I-I see. Good to know."

Face red, Ellis clutched her hem tightly.

At this moment...

"Stop flirting in front of a sacred church."

A displeased voice came from behind.

Turning around, Kamito found Greyworth arriving, dressed in a suit.

In combat attire, Virrey Branford was also with her.

"D-Director!"

Ellis instantly straightened her posture.

"How shocking. Knights who should be upholding the Academy's morals are having a tryst here."

Virrey stared coldly at Ellis.

"Th-This is a misunderstanding! We are heading to the Academy town for patrols next&mdash;"

"I understand, captain. The one at fault is the boy over there, deceiving innocent and pure maidens."

Virrey glared even more sharply at Kamito.

Her eyes looked like they could murder someone.

"&mdash;Indeed, you are the «Demon King»'s reincarnation, aren't you?"

"Demon King Solomon or whatever is just an old legend, right?"

"Regrettably, the Empire does not think so."

Kamito and Virrey's gazes clashed.

Both of them were about to draw their weapons.

"Dame Virrey, the Academy prohibits duels within its grounds."

Seeing this, Greyworth declared calmly.

Virrey shrugged with dissatisfaction&mdash;

"...Whatever. All shall come clear sooner or later."

Finally, she put down her hand that was placed on her gun.

"...B-By the way&mdash;"

Ellis spoke nervously.

"Why are you here, director?"

"I have a meeting with the Empire's bigshots. I don't even have the leisure to enjoy the «Great Festival of the Spirits»."

"A meeting... On this kind of occasion?"

"Yeah. Two days ago, a great incident apparently took place in a neighboring state."

Saying that, Greyworth's gray eyes narrowed and glowed sharply.

"The Theocracy apparently had an internal coup d'etat."

"Coup d'etat?"

Ellis widened her eyes greatly.

"As a secretive country, the details are unknown but according to reports from spies, Hierarch Rajihal Kahn was executed during a rebellion in the capital."

"Who is the mastermind?"

"According to reports, the eldest princess, Sjora Kahn."

"That witch&mdash;"

Ellis exclaimed in surprise.

"With something like that happened, the neighboring states are not going to remain silent&mdash;"

"...Assuredly so. This could very well spark a war."

Greyworth sighed. Her face looked a bit tired.

"...It must be tough for you, director."

Hearing Kamito's mutterings, Greyworth glared at him.

"Talking like it unrelated to you. This meeting will also discuss whether to authorize an investigation of the underground facility mentioned last time. Whether you can retrieve your sword spirit or not will depend on this."

"...Will they authorize it?"

"The military will probably refuse. After all, underground facilities are mostly liabilities they have no wish of publicizing."

"No way&mdash;"

"Don't worry. I am no longer as influential as during my days in active service, but I still have a right to speak after all. It should be possible to authorize an investigation team assembled from a small number of people affiliated with the military."

"...Sorry for making so much trouble for you."

Kamito bowed his head.

"Hmph, this is my first time hearing something sincere from you without sarcasm."

"...Really?"

"Yeah, that's right. That mouth of yours keep saying rude things like witch or old hag."

"Unbelievable. How could someone say that to a beauty like you&mdash;"

"What...!?"

Greyworth was rendered speechless with her mouth open in shock.

"Dame Greyworth, it's about time&mdash;"

"...Y-Yeah. Then Ellis, I shall leave the commanding on scene to you."

"Yes, you can count on me!"

Greyworth departed, a little awkwardly.

Watching her leave&mdash;

"...The director was shaken. How rare."

Ellis murmured to herself.

===Part 5===

The Academy town, located at the foot of the mountain where Areishia Spirit Academy was situated, had large crowds gathered.

The town was divided into five large zones based on the «Five Great Elemental Lords». Open air stalls covered the road side space along the main roads passing through the town. At the plaza, there were even princess maidens sent from the Academy to perform ritual dances.

Unlike the Academy, nobles were rarely seen here. Most of them were local commoners. However, the gender ratio was still skewed towards females.

Kamito had never seen such lively streets before.

The aroma of food drifting from the open air stalls made him swallow his saliva involuntarily.

"We are responsible for the «Undine Zone» near the outer gate, a place where leisure facilities prepared for the students are gathered. It is also the Academy town's central area."

Ellis explained while walking.

"With so many people, won't criminals try to sneak in?"

While walking and avoiding the crowds, Kamito muttered.

In actual fact, Kamito could invade any time he wanted.

"The main gate has a guardian spirit to perform identification checks. People are not allowed in without documents issued by the Empire. But it is true that people have gotten past it. You may not remember, but a few months ago, there was a black market merchant from «Murders» who infiltrated."

"Virrey Branford also forced her way in."

"That guardian spirit has been dismissed. Now, the Knights of the Empire are serving as guards. Mere terrorists should not be able to force their way in."

"So we need to look out for spirits running amok?"

"Yes. Exactly."

Ellis nodded.

"By the way..."

Suddenly, she looked around uneasily.

"...S-Starting a while ago, I have been feeling gazes."

"...I don't think you're imagining things."

In fact, Ellis's appearance was still very attention grabbing amidst the festival's hustle and bustle.

Striking ice-blue hair. Stern and dignified dark-brown eyes.

Also, there was&mdash;

Her massive bust, quivering under her formal dress armor.

Walking beside her, Kamito could not help but feel very aware of that swaying entity during all this time.

"Ooh, I-I do not want to be stared at by any man apart from Kamito..."

Blushing, Ellis looked quite embarrassed.

"Knight lady from the Academy, here's a special discount for you!"

"Come check out my shop, my donuts are very tasty."

Unconcerned with Ellis's appearance, the various shop keepers called out to her one after another.

"You're not going to buy something?"

Seeing that, Kamito tried asking.

"We are currently on duty."

A serious answer very much in line with her style.

"Being hungry is not good, though."

"W-Well..."

Ignoring Ellis in her serious dilemma, Kamito bought a kebab sandwich with roasted meat.

Wrapped in the wheat bread, there was a generous amount of meat and vegetables topped with a spicy sauce.

The hot aroma was very appetizing.

"Here, we can eat this while we walk."

"Hmm, mmm..."

Bite.

Ellis took a bite out of the sandwich.

As expected of a young lady from a prestigious family, her manner of eating was very graceful.

"Th-This is very delicious...!"

After a taste, she widened her dark-brown eyes.

"Oh, so noble young ladies have never eaten this kind of thing before?"

"Do not take me for a fool. Of course I have eaten things like kebab sandwiches before."

Ellis pouted.

"However, eating like this while walking feels quite new as an experience."

"I see. But you look like you're not very used to eating this."

"What?"

"There's some sauce here."

Kamito used his finger to wipe the sauce next to Ellis's mouth and licked it off.

"...W-W-W-What...!"

Instantly, Ellis's face went bright red while her mouth opened and closed.

"What's wrong?"

"Y-You, to think you did that out in full public&mdash;"

Just at this moment...

"Hey there, knight lady!"

A five or six-year-old girl came up to Ellis.

"...Yes, what is the matter? Are you lost?"

Ellis instantly recalled her duties and recovered a solemn knight's expression.

The girl shook her head.

"Lady, you're an elementalist, right? I wanna see a spirit."

"My apologies, but summoning spirits recklessly on the streets is against school rules."

"But during festivals, there are many spirits."

"My contracted spirit is a pure combat type, so unless it is absolutely necessary&mdash;"

"No, don't make things difficult for the knight lady!"

At this moment, a woman who appeared to be the child's mother came over and took the girl's hand.

"Sorry, miss knight. My daughter is too willful&mdash;"

However&mdash;

"Eeeee&mdash;, I wanna see a spirit, I wanna see&mdash;"

The child began to cry loudly.

The surrounding adults also began to clamor.

At this rate, the crowd was going to block the way.

"Well, just a look would be fine, right?"

"...I-I guess. Very well, this is an exception."

Coughing lightly, Ellis stroked the child's head.

Instantly, the girl's face brightened.

Ellis took a breath and raised her arm lightly&mdash;

"&mdash;Hailing from the far beyond, the violent demon wind spirit, «Simorgh»!"

She spoke the words of summoning.

Instantly, a whirlwind blew above and a demon bird appeared out of thin air, spreading its wings.

The surrounding spectators all cheered.

Seeing the demon wind spirit flying in the air, the girl widened her eyes&mdash;

Keeeeeeeeeee!

At this moment, «Simorgh» gave a great cry in the air.

Instantly, the girl's face went livid.

"Uwaaaaah! So scary!"

"There, there! The knight lady summoned it just for you!"

The girl ran away crying while her mother chased frantically.

The demon wind spirit landed on Ellis's shoulder, its shoulders slumping.

"...Looks like it scared her off."

"Even though the spirit is clearly so cool."

Hearing Kamito's comforting words, Simorgh cooed and called out.

&mdash;After that, Kamito and Ellis walked towards the central plaza.

There was a large spring at the plaza, attracting many spirits with its sacred properties.

"This is the famous «Spring of Undine»."

Ellis explained.

"Rumor has it that throwing in coins will grant wishes."

"Here..."

Indeed, there were many coins at the bottom of the spring.

Ellis took out silver coins from her pocket and quietly tossed one in.

Seeing her, Kamito did the same as her and tossed a silver coin.

"Ellis, what wish did you make?"

After he asked this...

"...S-Secret. What about you, Kamito?"

"Recovering my memory, first things first&mdash;That's it."

"I see."

Kamito's gaze settled on the surface of the spring water.

Reflected on it was his grownup sixteen-year-old self.

"Actually, I should have a wish I want the most, but I just can't remember it."

"Kamito, you&mdash;"

Ellis was just about to speak when...

Suddenly, a pillar of water rose from the spring.

"...!"

Bathed by a large amount of splashing water, standing in front of the spring, Ellis was thoroughly drenched.

"Ellis, are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, just that my clothes are wet..."

Seeing Ellis soaked, Kamito felt his heart pound uncontrollably.

Her hair in a ponytail was soaked.

The jet-black formal dress clung tightly to her skin, revealing the outlines of her white underwear beneath.

Even the patterns of delicate lace surfaced clearly.

Kamito frantically diverted his gaze.

"A-Anyway, let's go somewhere with fewer people."

"I-Indeed! The clothes must be dried."

Taking Ellis by the hand, Kamito ran away from the plaza into a small alley.

While the main roads were filled with crowds, there were extremely few people in the alleys.

"O wind&mdash;"

Running behind a shop, Ellis chanted an incantation for wind.

A whirlwind swirled and started to blow her clothes dry. As a result, her skirt fluttered and exposed white panties, causing Kamito to hastily turn his gaze away.

"Did that spring's spirit anger because I'm male?"

"No, I think it is likely that the spirit was intending to grant my wish."

"...What do you mean?"

"U-Uh... L-Letting Kamito witness my victory underwear, something like that..."

"...?"

Mixed in the sounds of the wind, Kamito could not quite catch what Ellis was saying&mdash;

"&mdash;Oh, you two are here. Kamito-kun."

A laid back voice was heard, causing Kamito to look back frantically.

Over there was&mdash;

"Fufu, am I disturbing the two of you?"

"L-Lurie-san&mdash;"

Lurie Lizaldia of the «Numbers».

Dressed in vestments, her arms were holding a great amount of snacks including apple pie, sugar churros, roasted corn, a chocolate banana, etc.

On the side of her head was even a weird mask bought from a stall.

"Dame Lurie, what did you come here without even a bodyguard knight!?"

Ellis exclaimed in surprise.

"Why? Of course it's for sightseeing. It's been a while since I last visited a festival."

Her vestment's sleeves swayed. Seeing this, Ellis sighed.

"You cannot go without a bodyguard. If something were to happen to you, as one of the «Numbers»&mdash;"

"Don't worry. This Academy town is probably the second safest place in the entire Empire."

"Be that as it may&mdash;"

Ellis did not get to finish her sentence. At this moment...

A shocking explosion was heard, coming from somewhere in the Academy.

"...!?"

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==Translator's Notes and References==
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