Editing Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 1 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 2===

The day the test ended, dinner was a bit different from usual.

"This is—?"

After the dishes were cleared off the table and I saw the food brought by the housework robot, I asked Mitsuki who was sitting opposite me across the table.

"Is it not obvious? This is dessert!"

"Dessert? Why just today..."

Baked pudding topped with cream. Bits of chocolate were even sprinkled beautifully over it. Looking at this dessert, I inquired of her.

"Although you only qualified as backup, this is to reward you for passing, Nii-san, because I believe that hard work should be commended."

Without looking at me, Mitsuki answered in an indifferent tone of voice.

"Uh, it looks really tasty. Thank you very much... Did you actually make this for me, Mitsuki?"

"W-What, what makes you think that?"

The fork fell from Mitsuki's hand. Unable to hide her shaken heart, she asked me.

"Lisa mentioned it. She said you make lovely sweets, so I wondered whether this was your creation too."

"U-Umm..."

"Judging from your reaction, I guess I'm right?"

"...Yes."

Mitsuki huddled herself and admitted in a small voice.

"Then why not say that from the start? I am very grateful to you."

"Because... It would be very embarrassing if it failed to suit your tastes, Nii-san. Also, I would not hear an honest opinion."

Mitsuki looked away and said with her face red.

"Sheesh... I thought you'd grown braver after becoming the student council president, but you're still so timid on weird issues."

Laughing wryly, I scooped a spoonful of the dessert and tasted it. The gentle and sweet flavor immediately started spreading from the tip of my tongue.

"—Mmm, super good."

"R-Really?"

"Yeah, and the entire schools students have already recognized your skills, right? I think you could be more confident."

"If the person before me says it does not taste good, the opinion of the majority will be completely meaningless."

Mitsuki asserted with a serious expression.

"...I think I'm starting to understand why you're able to become the student council president."

Exhaling in exclamation, I finished all of the dessert.

"—Thanks for the treat. Dessert was lovely. Thank you, Mitsuki."

"Great, you are welcome."

At this moment, the expression on Mitsuki's face reminded of three years ago—that extremely natural and incomparably relaxed smile.



After the meal, I returned to my room to find the lamp on my portable terminal flashing.

Looking at it, I found an email from Iris. This portable terminal was capable of voice calls and email, but the only contacts I had so far were limited to Mituski and Iris.

'I'm waiting for you at the beach.'

That was all she wrote.

I looked at the time displayed on the edge of the portable terminal's screen.

"7:27pm huh... Curfew starts at 8pm so I guess it's fine."

Taking the portable terminal, I left the room, walking while writing an email to Mitsuki.

'I'm going out for a bit. Back by 8pm.'

Because Mitsuki would probably check the dorm's entry and exit records, I thought I had better inform her.

I left the dorm and walked on the road along the shore.

Without any basis at all, I felt that she was probably waiting for me at the place where we first met. Because time was limited, I quickened my pace to hurry on my way.

Countless stars were twinkling in the deep-blue night sky. Waves kept surging and retreating, as though caressing the white beach, playing a regular song of the sea.

My intuition was apparently correct. Iris was standing at the place where our eyes first met. Although she was in uniform, she had taken off her shoes and stockings to go barefoot.

With the waves breaking over the snow-white complexion of those beautiful feet, Iris was staring at the sea surface afar.

I walked over the sand to approach her, resulting in rustling footsteps. Hearing my footsteps, Iris turned her head in my direction.

"Oh... Mononobe, you came."

"Yeah, because your email said you're waiting for me."

I stopped several meters in front of Iris and replied.

"Sorry for calling you out at this hour. Did Mitsuki-chan get angry?"

"I'm supposed to be able to go out before 8pm... But she might be angry when I get back."

"Fufu, because Mitsuki-chan is very strict!"

Seeing Iris' smile, I felt my heart pounding. Bathed under starlight, the silver-haired girl was giving off an even more otherworldly sense of beauty than usual.

"...Then why did you want to see me?"

I asked her while being aware of the nervousness in my voice.

"Oh, umm, first is, umm... I want to thank you, Mononobe."

"If it's thanks, you already thanked me countless times after the test. It's more than enough. Besides, I didn't do anything that needs you to thank me like that."

"You're wrong! If it weren't for you, Mononobe, I definitely would have failed again, so—Thank you!"

Iris bowed her head forcefully to thank me, her long silver hair spreading out in the air.

"I simply trained together with you... Fine, you're welcome."

Further refusal would just be a waste of time, so I candidly accepted her thanks.

"U-Umm, then... I've got something to ask you, Mononobe... Can I?"

Iris looked up stiffly and asked in trepidation.

"I don't mind..."

I nodded and Iris approached me.

"Mononobe, why did you help me?"

"Huh?"

"Being so considerate of me, working hard with me seriously, Mononobe, you're the first person to do that. Everyone else in the class hold themselves and others to strict standards, so I can't rely on them... Although Mitsuki-chan looks after me frequently, I think that's because she's the student council president."

Iris approached me even closer, almost to the point of touching me.

"So, I wanna know... how you feel, Mononobe."

Seeing her gaze at me from so close, I felt my heart beat even faster.

"T-That's because..."

"Because...?"

"Probably because... you're very similar to how Mitsuki was in the past."

I said one of the reasons.

The debt I felt on my own was just my personal feelings after all. If I had to explain it to her, that meant bringing up things from my NIFL days, so I was not going to say much on that front.

"I'm similar to Mitsuki-chan? No way, I'm completely unlike Mitsuki-chan!"

"She used to have similarities with you, Iris, and right now, she is still working as hard as she can, just like you, so... I think that's why I can't leave you to your own devices."

Hearing my answer, Iris looked down and murmured quietly.

"I see... So that's the case, it's a bit unfortunate. But... it's fine, I just have to start trying hard now."

"Iris?"

I called to her because I could not hear her clearly. Iris instantly looked up forcefully.

"Mononobe!"

"W-What?"

"Listen here, I... want to get closer to you, Mononobe, s-so umm... If you don't mind, I want to be frie—"

WOOOOOOOOOOOOO...

Just as Iris was speaking, a loud siren was suddenly heard all around.

'Emergency warning, emergency warning—Level C alert, Type White. I repeat, Level C alert, Type White!'

The announcement explained the key points of the warning.

"Type White—that's 'White' Leviathan, right...? Is a Level C alert very urgent?"

I asked but Iris did not seem like she heard me.

"Leviathan..."

She said the dragon's name with a stiff expression.

Right—Iris had lost her family due to a dragon disaster caused by Leviathan.

'The Dragon Subjugation Squad, students selected by the Midgard Defense Department, please man your stations. Prepare to standby for combat operations. All other students and staff, please return to your quarters or the nearest evacuation shelter, especially those currently at shore areas, please evacuate as quickly as possible.'

"Hey, the announcer is telling us to evacuate!"

"...That dragon... is nearby..."

"Pull yourself together! Anyway, we need to get out of here first!"

Iris was in a trance. I grabbed her hand and pulled up up to the breakwater.

A deep noise and vibrations could be felt underfoot.

Looking out at sea, giant rectangular objects surfaced one after another from the originally peaceful sea. Then these objects formed a circle as though surrounding this island.

The displaced seawater formed big waves, rushing up the beach. Smashing against the breakwater, the waves broke into white spray.

"Could that be... Midgardsormr?"

"That's right. What's visible from here is just part of the final defensive line... The first to third defensive lines are farther out at sea."

Probably returning to her senses finally, Iris answered me calmly.

"Iris, you're okay now?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Sorry for spacing out... We have to hurry and find shelter or else we'll cause other people trouble."

After speaking with a serious face, Iris put on the shoes she had placed on the breakwater before hand, then looked up into the night sky.

Uniformed girls holding weapons were passing overhead, flying towards the sea.

This was probably the Dragon Subjugation Squad selected by Midgard Defense Department. By generating wind, they were flying in the sky at high speed.

"That's true, we'll only get in their way if we stay here."

"Right, let's head back to the dorms immediately—Ooh..."

Iris was just about to break into a run when she suddenly knelt down with her hand on her stomach.

"Hey... What happened to you!?"

"A-A sudden stomach ache... Ahaha, maybe I ate too much to celebrate passing the test... Oh... It's gradually getting better..."

Despite the cold sweat already appearing on her forehead, Iris still stood up.

"...Can you walk?"

"No problem... Let's run, Mononobe!"

It seemed to be a momentary stomach ache. Iris took my hand and began to walk briskly.



Iris had to make her way to the shared dormitories located near the school so we separated along the way and I returned to Mitsuki's personal dorm.

"Mitsuki, are you here?"

I called out from the entrance hall, but no one answered. Mitsuki was apparently the Dragon Subjugation Squad's captain, so she had probably mobilized already.

Although I was curious about the situation outside, I could not ask her through email because it would obstruct her work. Hence, I decided to wait quietly and returned to my room.

Unable to settle down, I started wanting to find a book to read. The instant I touched the portable terminal, a ringtone was suddenly heard.

I initially thought it was Mitsuki, but the screen did not display the caller's number. No matter how long I waited, the ringing showed no signs of stopping, so I hesitantly pressed the button to take the call.

Immediately, an image with static appeared on the screen to show a young man in military uniform, grinning.

That smile made me feel a chill from the bottom of my heart.

'Hi, it's been a while, 2nd Lieutenant Mononobe.'

"Major Loki... Why—"

I uttered his name in a hoarse voice.

Major Loki Jotunheim—The person who used to be my direct superior until recently.

This man, who could be considered the mastermind behind NIFL, why—

'Well, I wanted to call you earlier... But Midgardsormr's defensive line includes many barriers on electronic communications too. If it weren't for the current battle situation, communicating without Midgard's knowledge would be impossible. Sorry for calling late.'

"Calling late... I wasn't waiting for a call from a guy like you—"

'A guy? In just a brief week, 2nd Lieutenant Mononobe, have you forgotten how to address your former commanding officer?'

Narrow eyes stared straight at me from the screen. Just by doing that, he made me feel like I was pulled back to the past, pulled back to those long, dark days when I was working under him.

"...My apologies, Major Loki."

'Now that's more like it. Still, I can hardly blame you for growing lax. Compared to NIFL, Midgard is like paradise. It's only inevitable that you would be affected, given your ''incompleteness''. Seriously... It is truly unfortunate that I couldn't ''finish you up'' in the end."
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v01 157.jpg|thumb]]

"You called me... Why?"

'Oh right, I almost went on a tangent. It's like this, I have a favor to ask of you.'

"A favor?"

'Our positions no longer allow me to command you, so this is a favor. 2nd Lieutenant Mononobe, you already know that Ds can turn into dragons, right? This is top secret at NIFL but it should be something that all Midgard students are privy to.'

Smiling artificially, Major Loki asked me.

"...Yes, if a D makes contact with a dragon after her dragon mark changes color, she will turn into the same type of dragon. Are you referring to this phenomenon?"

'Indeed, how terrifying. To think that such monsters could multiply, a most frightful notion chilling to the bone. An outcome that must be prevented at all costs, do you not agree?'

"Y-Yes... Of course."

Despite a foreboding feeling, I still concurred.

'But despite its crucial position, Midgard has not perfected its handling of this matter. After confirming that a dragon mark had changed in color, they send the subject to an underground bunker for isolation, then have other Ds intercept the dragon. This is the tactic they have chosen.'

"That kind of tactic... What's wrong with it?"

'Are you playing dumb? It should be quite clear to you. The most effective countermeasure is to kill the D whose dragon mark has changed in color.'

The chill given off from Major Loki's inexorably cold eyes almost seemed to freeze my heart.

"...No one can support that, whether on grounds of human rights or the social value of Ds. One D's death is a massive loss to the world."

Besides, who would be capable of making that kind of proposal?

Despite the threat of dragons, the world continued to develop slowly, maintaining some measure of peace. It was all thanks to these Ds bolstering energy resources.

'But I believe that the economic and human losses arising from an increase in dragons would dwarf the benefits. But just as you say, it is true that such a method won't be supported by the majority. Because the world fears offending the Ds while the Ds won't abandon one of their own. After all, any one of them could be the next victim.'

"Then—"

'Hence, someone needs to act in secret.'

Major Loki interrupted me, his eyes fixed upon me.

"You're not ordering me, by any chance?"

'Not an order. I am simply asking you to accept the mission as a favor to me. Your reassignment to Midgard was completely unexpected, but I already had prior plans to have someone infiltrate. If you could take on this mission, it saves a lot of work. Don't worry, all you need to do is kill one D if an emergency arises.'

"Please don't... make it sound so easy."

I gritted my teeth and glared at Major Loki.

'It is very easy, at least to the 2nd Lieutenant Mononobe I cultivated. Whether Ds or anyone else, as long as the opponent is human, you won't lose, because you are the strongest Fafnir from our Sleipnir."

"..."

I could not say anything. Major Loki's words were just a curse, not praise.

'You don't have to answer immediately. But if your assistance cannot be secured, I might have to resort to less efficient means, which might cause unnecessary collateral damage. So please consider the matter carefully.'

Zzzt. The call disconnected and the screen went black.

Leaning myself against the back of the chair, I looked up at the ceiling.

The siren still continued to blare.