Editing Leviathan:Volume 6 Chapter 4 (section)

===Part 3===

"So the conclusion is that you are going out with Luna?"

"Yeah, I've got to keep her company for tonight. But we're not alone. Juujouji is with us too."

Hal gave a ready response to the exasperated Asya.

They were having breakfast. It was the next morning after the ark's return. Hal had found a text message on his phone when he woke up. It was an invitation from his childhood friend to have breakfast together.

"Say, why couldn't we have eaten breakfast at the hotel?"

"It's not a bad idea once in a while. I've wanted to eat at this kind of place on occasion."

Breakfast was provided at the hotel they were staying at.

But that morning, at Asya's suggestion, they had gone to a food truck, the kind commonly found in North America, and casually ordered their choice of food.

It suddenly struck Hal that had Luna been the one to suggest this&mdash;

Most likely, he would have suspected Luna of taking him somewhere away from the other girls to spend time alone. Thinking that, Hal smiled wryly.

Presumably, his childhood friend with the hearty appetite simply missed the taste of more pedestrian fare.

Also, Hal had ordered toast, a fried egg sunny side up and crispy bacon. Asya's breakfast consisted of a bagel with an omelet topped with cream and a hash brown on the side, quite a small breakfast.

"Are you still on a diet?"

"Please don't use such a weird description. I've simply decreased my food intake. This is the standard amount for my physique."

"Well, I guess that's right."

Hal was still concerned but Asya ate her breakfast as though nothing had happened.

However, their gazes suddenly met a number of times. Every time he made eye contact with Asya, Hal felt his heart pounding.

He had already known this childhood friend for countless years, yet now, from her clear blue eyes... Hal found her gaze indescribably alluring.

Speaking of which, a few days ago, she had ___ him.

Hal did everything he could to avoid thinking back to that, but unbelievably, Asya also did not mention it at all. Currently, both of them were "pretending to have forgotten" what had happened.

(What nonsense am I thinking about Asya now?)

Feeling angry at his own ineptitude(?), Hal was very agitated.

"By the way..."

The childhood friend happened to speak up, startling Hal.

"W-What is it?"

"You agreed to go out with Luna in the evening, which means you're free during the day, right? Can you accompany me to Montauk later? I'd like to have a look at the ark's control device for future reference."

"Oh, sorry, I've got something for the morning too."

This was the truth, so Hal replied quite fluently.

"It's Chris and the WotC from the New York National Guard. They wanted to throw us a party to celebrate Shirasaka and my return."

"Then what about the afternoon?"

"I've also got another appointment I can't cancel, so let's pick another day. Since we have to go eventually, why not have Juujouji, Shirasaka and Luna, of course, join in for the ride too?"


"I can't believe that Haruomi declined an invitation from a girl so readily!?"

After breakfast, left alone, Asya randomly entered a park.

She was sitting on a bench, connected to the internet through a tablet, having a video chat with someone back in Japan at Tokyo New Town. Naturally, she was grumbling to President M.

"To think I specifically brought him out of the hotel, made him overly conscious of the beautiful maiden that is me and even invited him out for a date, my combo skill was so perfect..."

'That Haruga guy used other girls to decline your invitation huh...'

President M mused poignantly.

'Meaning that he has progressed significantly?'

"Progressed!?"

'Under the accumulation of coincidental and inevitable circumstances, Haruga have had more opportunities to be surrounded by women. Added to that are the bold approaches from American girls, increasing his personal combat experience&mdash;Hence, he must have learned to some extent the evasive techniques used by popular men.'

"Ughhhhhh! What is that Haruomi getting carried away for!?"

After complaining, Asya calmed down. Unlike before, after her metamorphosis, Anastasya Rubashvili was a calm hunter of love.

"In other words, it might be time for me to fire the second arrow to continue my makeover."

'Do you have some kind of idea?'

"The biggest obstacle to making progress in my relationship with Haruomi is the fact 'we grew up together like siblings.' It's the whole reason why Haruomi thinks of me as family and strongly resists seeing me as a member of the opposite sex..."

Previously unable to understand her childhood friend's heart, Asya had him all figured out now.

"Although things are not quite the same as when we last talked, I wonder if there's a way to make Haruomi lose his memory? Like pushing him down a cliff into the ocean or something. To reset his memory and build a new relationship!"

'Well, as long as he doesn't end up rolling down the jagged cliff, it's worth a shot, isn't it?'

What a sloppy answer.

'Using handy magic of that sort would be another method.'

"I'm this stuck precisely because there isn't any magic of that sort. Can't this be dealt with using one of your shady skills with a quick 'zap!'... President?"

'No such skill exists. It's not like I am an alien with beams shooting out of my eyes.'

"Really? President, I always get the feeling that your true identity might unexpectedly turn out to be something like a New-Type with awakened abilities due to the human species evolving after the arrival of dragonkind."

'Enough with such nonsense. It is time for you to return to Tokyo.'

"Huh?"

Asya jumped in surprise, because President M suddenly turned serious.

'I have been feeling uneasy the whole time recently. There is a very strong premonition&mdash;Something huge will happen to the city in the near future and might need your party's power.'

Undoubtedly, this was a declaration from a psychic with shady powers of prescience.

President M's "warning" caused Asya's expression to tense up.


While the silver-haired master-class witch was contacting Japan...

Juujouji Orihime and Luna Francois Gregory were meeting in the hotel lounge, having a morning coffee together after breakfast.

At this moment, Shirasaka Hazumi arrived.

"Hazumi, did you sleep well last night?"

"I heard from Harry that you two went through tough times."

Hazumi greeted the two girls who were her senior then said, "Well, Nee-sama and Luna-san... I have a matter to discuss with you, actually. It's about Senpai&mdash;Haruomi-senpai's state of health."

Hearing Hazumi speaking in such a serious tone of voice, Orihime and Luna Francois were both stunned for a moment.

Unbeknownst to them at the time, the web of personal relationships centered around Haruga Haruomi was about to undergo a dramatic change triggered by this moment&mdash;