Editing Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 1 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 1===

I couldn't help but feel dizzy from the massive dissonance between the scenery before me and the world I used to live in.

Clear blue skies. A navy-blue sea. A white beach. Coconut trees in the breeze. This tropical island scene was like a drawing.

Because it was too hot, I took off my long-sleeved jacket, leaving just a shirt, then looked out to sea.

"Am I dreaming...?"

I muttered to myself while listening to the sound of waves.

This suspicion rapidly turned into certainty.

Because a girl suddenly appeared out of the sea.

Beautiful silver hair, dripping wet, was glittering brightly from reflecting the dazzling sunlight. Droplets of water slid over clear, flawless snow-white skin, flowing along gentle curves.

Without wearing anything at all, she was walking on the beach nude.

Roughly the same age as me, probably fifteen or sixteen years old.

It really had been too long since I last saw a girl of my age, so I had no idea how to react.

However, I could not tear my eyes away from that snow-white, naked body. Seeing bulges that flashed in and out view between gaps in the silver hair, wobbling as the girl walked, I could not help but gulp.

"Yeah... This has to be a dream."

I sighed.

This kind of scenery could not possibly be reality. I must be quite exhausted.

Then at least before I wake up, allow me to enjoy this paradise. Because once the dream ended, the usual dark and gloomy world must be waiting for me again.

After thinking that, I stared at the naked girl.

Her beauty was akin to a fairy's—a kind of otherworldly charm detached from the mundane world. I was mesmerized by that beautiful figure.

Perhaps noticing my gaze, the girl turned her head to look in my direction.

Then the girl stopped moving.
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Meeting her gaze, I felt extremely nervous, but since this was a dream, there was no need to panic. Anyway, I lifted my hand first to greet her.

"H-Hi, the weather's so nice today."

The girl's face instantly froze.

"Ky..."

"Ky?"

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!?"

The girl went bright red in the face and screamed. Then covering up the front of her body with her arms, she squatted down on the spot.

I was rooted to the spot by this shrill scream that almost split my eardrums in pain.

What could one say? This was a very normal response, not the slightest like a dream. Were I dreaming, developments ought to be... of a more sultry nature, right?

In other words, no way—

"This island and you... They're all real?"

"Y-You, w-what are you talking about? No, I should be asking why is there a man here!?"

Staring into my eyes, the girl's gaze conveyed not only shame but also fear.

This was apparently no dream. In that case, I definitely wronged her.

If this was reality, this island down south—Midgard—was indeed supposed to be completely free of men. One could hardly blame this girl for being so unguarded. I should have realized earlier.

"Oh... Ummm, sorry, actually—"

I apologized to her, but just as I was about to explain the whole story, the girl interrupted me and yelled loudly:

"C-Caduceus!!"

Using one arm to shield her well-shaped bust while raising the other arm towards the sky, she manifested a black sphere on her palm, which then turned into a silver-white staff.

"Dark matter transmutation...!?"

I stared wide-eyed in amazement but quickly understood that this was nothing worth getting surprised over.

Because every child at Midgard was a "D"—a superpower-wielding candidate for the Dragon Subjugation Squad.

"I-I can do this... I'll take care of you, a mere intruder!"

Speaking in a trembling voice, the girl pointed the front end of her staff at me.

"Hey—!?"

I noticed that the girl was about to attack using her superpowers.

So-called dark matter was an energy substance that only Ds were capable of producing, which could be converted into any material or phenomenon. If she conjured high-temperature flames, instantly burning me to ashes would not be impossible.

If what she intended to unleash was a wide-area attack, even trying to defend or evade would be pointless.

—I instantly felt my hairs stand on end.

In the depths of my consciousness, the originally slumbering monster woke up at this time.

This monster was deeply rooted in my subconscious.

When confronted with a crisis of life and death, instinct would calculate multiple patterns to ''strike preemptively''.

Automatically selecting the most efficient and certain means of attack, the body would take action as though reflexively.

Recognizing the girl as an enemy, the monster of my subconscious brandished its claws at her.

Without changing my posture, merely raising my right hand by the minimum amount—

"Eeek!?"

Seeing fear surface on the girl's face, I instantly came back to my senses.

—At this rate, she will die. I was going to kill her.

My mind recognized this fact.

But time did not afford the luxury of changing my method of attack. If I did that, her attack would surely take my life first.

Instinct was insisting on the legitimacy of its actions, but I screamed in my heart to oppose instinct.

—''What does my own life matter!?''

Using rationality, I forced my subconscious action to stop, canceling the attack against the girl.

"Kuh..."

Muscles screamed while bones creaked from forcible exertion.

Perhaps due to coercive suppression of subconscious responses, my nervous system fell into disarray for a moment, rendering my body unable to follow the next order.

Although my brain was currently searching for other methods of reacting, my arms and legs failed to keep up with my thoughts.

Without missing out on the opening presented by the halt in my motion, the girl yelled loudly:

"I won't lose!"

Multiple black spheres could be seen manifesting near the staff's tip.

Since I had shown murderous intent towards her at one point, it was unlikely that she would show mercy towards me.

Chances of my surviving this wave of attacks were very low.

—Even so, this was my choice too.

Telling myself that, I quietly prepared myself.

However—

BOOM!!

The expected explosion arrived, but it happened under the girl's feet instead.

"Kyahhhhhhhhh..."

Raising a tall cloud of dust, the girl was blown into the air. Her shrill scream gradually faded into the distance.

Sand and soil fell in the surroundings like rain while the girl fell into the sea.

—Splash.

Then she did not float up again.

"Hey...? Hey hey hey!"

I ran towards the sea. While running, I removed my shirt then jumped into the clear seawater.

Fortunately, the seawater was clear and transparently, allowing me to swiftly locate the gradually sinking girl.

Picking up the apparently unconscious girl in my arms, I returned to the beach.

Unconscious people usually felt very heavy, but the girl's body was far lighter than imagined—far softer too.

"She shouldn't have died... Right?"

Laying the girl down on the beach, I examined her condition. No external injuries. The earlier explosion probably happened underground in the sand.

My gaze shifted downwards. Almost staring straight at the girl's bosom, I hastily turned my gaze away, but discovered a strangely shaped birthmark near the side of her abdomen.

"Is this... a dragon mark?"

A so-called dragon mark was an emblem that all Ds were born with. That mark on the girl's body did not resemble the kind caused by abrasive wounds.

Then trying to check her breathing, I brought my face close to hers.

The girl proceeded to open her eyes suddenly.

"Eh...?"

Our eyes met at extremely close range.

Only after inspecting at such a close distance did I realize that her face was very well-proportioned. Added to that was her head of silver hair and flawlessly clear skin.

Such sublime and otherworldly beauty, like a work of art, it made me stare in mesmerization—

"So pretty..."

The words slipped out of my mouth unintentionally.

"W-What what what..."

Lying on the sand, the girl went red in embarrassment, her lips trembling nonstop.

But she suddenly regained her senses. Using her left arm to cover her chest, she pointed at me with her right hand.

"H-Hold on!"

I held her arm down and straddled her, sealing off her movements.

"L-Let me go! Molester! Pervert!"

"I'm neither a molester nor a pervert, nor an intruder! Could you please listen to my explanation!?"

Although I was aware that such words should not be said while pinning a naked girl down on her back, I knew there was no way I could withstand more explosions from her.

"Q-Quit lying! I won't be tricked! Because Midgard is not supposed to have men!"

"I was brought here! I was stuffed into a shipping container along with supplies to be transported here!"

Last night, I suddenly received a reassignment order. Without receiving detailed explanations, I was taken to a container.

Then I was left behind in that dark and rocking container for a number of hours. When the container was finally opened, I already found myself on this tropical island.

The ship that had delivered the container was no longer in sight. I found myself surrounded by autonomous work robots.

I wandered all over the place in search of people but ran into this naked girl.

"I can't believe you hid inside a container to sneak in here... Y-You must be a professional spy, right?"

"No, I said I was stuffed into a container, right? And even if I managed to sneak in, it's impossible to bypass the security system here. Do you really think the concentric defensive system named Midgardsormr, legendary for being impregnable, is that easy to breach?"

I calmly reprimanded her, but the girl still retorted defiantly.

"B-But humans have infinite potential!"

"How did that even occur to you!? Besides, if I'm an experienced spy, I wouldn't be hanging out leisurely at the beach, right!?"

"I-It could be a trap too! Your goal is to lure someone out... Oh no!? Am I going to be silenced!? I'll be tortured, forced to give up information, then finally killed!?"

The girl went pale, falling into despair on her own.

"Listen to me! I won't silence you nor kill you!"

—That's right, I absolutely won't kill her. Even if my body moved on its own like earlier, I would still subdue it through willpower.

"T-Then you wouldn't by any chance intend... t-to do obscene things to me?"

The girl's face gradually turned from pale to red. Seeing that kind of reaction from her, I felt rather troubled too. It forced me to become aware of the supple body that I was touching, the fragrance of maidenly scent, as well as the lovely shape of her twin peaks.

I had no intentions of that sort, but my face naturally heated up.

"I-I said I won't do anything..."

"Liar! Your face is going red!"

"Why are you so sharp when it comes to this kind of thing!?"

I sighed deeply after retorting. This would take forever at this rate. In any case, I had to deliver the necessary explanations first.

"I am Mononobe Yuu. I belong to NIFL, the military organization directly under Asgard's command. Rank: 2nd Lieutenant. I was reassigned to Midgard, effective today. The official document is here."

I took out the drenched document from my pants pocket. To avoid damaging it, I carefully spread it open for her to read.

The girl's eyes widened in surprise.

"Mononobe, Yuu... You really are... a soldier? Not a pervert?"

After inspecting the document carefully for a while, the girl asked me.

"Correct."

From an intruder to a pervert, her choice of words to describe me was getting worse, but I deliberately ignored it.

"You said you're a 2nd Lieutenant... You... Mononobe, how old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"I-Isn't that the same as me!? It would be understandable for a D, but for most soldiers, getting a rank of 2nd Lieutenant at this kind of age is too unusual!"

"Even if you say it's unusual, it's the truth. Nothing I can do about that. So, what's your name?"

"...Huh?"

"I already gave you my name. I'd appreciate it if you could introduce yourself too."

After I urged her, the girl finally spoke despite her hesitation.

"...I am Iris Freyja. Student No. 7 in Brynhildr Class. Rank is... Private 2nd class, no wait, the students aren't NIFL soldiers so there's no rank hierarchy between us!"

"Yeah, that's right. Midgard is just a school. Rank is irrelevant."

"G-Glad you know that."

The girl—Iris—nodded, apparently relieved.

"So, Iris, now that we've introduced ourselves, I think the misunderstanding is over... You won't attack me again, right?"

"Oh... Right."

Iris nodded a little absentmindedly. Hence, I released her arm and stood up. Picking up the shirt I removed before jumping into the sea, I handed it to her.

"Anyway, put this on first. Otherwise, I won't know where to look."

Casting my gaze out towards the distant horizon, I suggested.

"...T-Thank you."

With a complicated expression on her face, Iris put on my shirt. Thanks to the relatively long hem, at least it covered up the lower part of her body that was not meant to be seen.

"Umm, I'm very sorry. I shouldn't have approached the beach so casually. In this place free from the male gaze, I should've expected that there might be girls going skinny dipping."

After all, I was the one at fault, so I bowed my head and apologized again. However, Iris tilted her head and said:

"Eh? Even if it's only girls, we don't go skinny dipping either, because that's too indecent."

"...What? But unless I'm mistaken, you weren't wearing a swimsuit just now, were you?"

Frowning, I looked at Iris who had been completely nude until just now.

"Oh, my swimsuit got swept away by the sea. While I was swimming, it somehow came loose without my noticing it... That's why I dove into the sea to see if it got caught somewhere."

Iris replied matter-of-factly. Recalling the earlier explosion, I reached the conclusion that this girl—

"—Iris, you're quite careless, aren't you?"

"I-I am not careless! I'm neither an idiot, nor an airhead, nor useless!!"

"I never went that far..."

It looked like I had poked her in a sore spot.

Idiot, airhead, useless—

I felt like I was starting to understand Iris as a person. Despite no similarity in appearance, Iris' earnest personality was actually quite similar to a certain girl.

"Eh!?"

Then I heard Iris make a strange sound.

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

"D-Don't ask me... It's because you suddenly showed a gentle smile, it frightened me..."

Iris answered with her face gone red for some reason.

"I was smiling just now?"

"...Yes."

Iris nodded, answering somewhat uncomfortably.

"Oh... I smiled because I was reminiscing, so don't mind me."

I tried to sweep things under the rug ambiguously. It was not something to discuss with someone I just met.

"What did you recall, Mononobe?"

"...Secret."

"Eh, what's wrong with telling others?"

Because Iris insisted on prying, I resorted to changing the subject.

"—What's important right now is that neither of us are in decent attire. If possible, Iris, I hope you can change back into your own clothes and give my shirt back."

Iris was wearing just my shirt whereas I was topless. Under such circumstances, any sort of misunderstanding could arise.

"Ehhh!? Mononobe, you want me to give you clothing that I've worn!? No way! No way no way no way! Impossible! You're going to sniff the lingering scent and lick it all over, aren't you!?"

"I'm not doing that!! What's scary is your imagination!"

"Mononobe the molester! Mononobe the pervert! Huh? Speaking of which, her family name is Mononobe too—"

Refusing to let me explain, originally making a noisy fuss with her face gone red, Iris suddenly came back to her senses, her head tilted in puzzlement.

As it so happened at this moment, a calm voice interrupted our conversation.

"Iris-san, could you please not use other people's family name to scream pervert or molester? Even though I know you are clearly not referring to me, it feels very unpleasant."

Simultaneously, Iris and I looked in the voice's direction.

A girl in school uniform was standing on the tall breakwater separating the beach from the road. With her long black hair fluttering in the sea breeze, the girl slowly walked down the steps leading to the beach.

"No way..."

Whether in facial appearance or voice, this girl greatly resembled a certain person I knew.

But she could not possibly be at a place like this. She was the one person who could not possibly be here.

Because that was why I had—

But my flimsy hope was shattered by what Iris said next.

"Oh! M-Mitsuki-chan! S-Sorry... Speaking of which, your family name is Mononobe too, Mitsuki-chan, I forgot because I always call you by name..."

Feeling guilty, Iris scratched her head and apologized.

Ahhh... So it really was true.

In fact, I already knew the instant I laid eyes on her. I could not possibly be mistaken. I simply refused to believe it no matter what.

"Mitsuki..."

It took all I could to force these words out when she came over to me. Holding the hem of her skirt between her fingers, she bowed elegantly then said:

"I have been waiting for you the whole time. It has been three years—Nii-san."