Editing Masou Gakuen HxH:Volume 10 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 3===

「Everyone has gathered?」

Reiri entered the bridge of the battleship Ataraxia. And then she sat at the captain’s seat that was on a high position like on a tiered platform inside the bridge. Kizuna and Yurishia were standing in front of there.

「Looks like Hayuru hasn’t arrived yet isn’t it?」

When Yurishia looked around the bridge, it was right at that timing the door opened and a black haired girl arrived with a small run.

「I’m sorry, I’m la――」

The girl stood still when her eyes met Kizuna. Her cheeks were turning red at once.

「Aa……」

Kizuna also felt his cheeks getting heated. He felt embarrassed and also somewhat awkward at the same time.

That was an understandable reaction.

『I, love you.』

Since then, both of them were somewhat distant. They were even avoiding to look at each others’ face.

――How should I answer?

It would be a lie if he said that he didn’t know about Himekawa’s feelings. He vaguely felt that she was directing good will at him. However, he also wondered if asserting that might be an overconfidence or excessive self-consciousness on his part.

And then at the same time, they were also doing Heart Hybrid and Climax Hybrid due to their duty. Kizuna looked back at himself and wondered, that perhaps it was because of those that he tried not to be conscious of romantic emotions as much as possible.

He wasn’t behaving like that intentionally. However, now that he was looking back, it could also be thought that he was acting with such thinking at the bottom of his heart.

Kizuna was at a loss at how to answer Himekawa’s confession. Seeing such a Kizuna, Himekawa continued what she was saying in a fluster.

『I, I don’t need to, hear the answer right away-. Besides, doing this while Aine-san is not here, somehow it also feels cowardly.』

Himekawa stood up from the bed.

『It’s just, I want you to think about it.』

『……Got it. But, why, so suddenly?』

Kizuna thought ‘damn it’ after saying that. Surely this wasn’t something that suddenly occurred in Himekawa’s mind. Undoubtedly she was worrying about it all this time until now, and today she finally gathered her courage to confess.

『Sorry! Forget what I said just now. I’ll think properly――』

However Himekawa smiled gently without showing any sign of anger.

『Because we don’t know what will happen from here on.』

『Eh?』

『There will be an operation against a really powerful enemy where we cannot really see any prospect. It won’t be strange even if the world ends or we die any second. Even until now we have been continuously going through difficult situations, but I have the feeling that what will be waiting for us ahead of this will be something so dangerous that it cannot be compared with that.』

『Hayuru……』

『That’s why, I thought of doing everything I can so I won’t regret anything.』

She cutely shrugged and showed him her smiling face.

『Well then, excuse me.』

『Yeah……』

And then she turned her back to Kizuna and exited the room.

 

――Such a thing happened and his reply was still postponed.

Was the reply postponed because it was awkward, or else was it because the reply was postponed that they only ended with this awkward atmosphere? Even the two of them didn’t know which one it was.

But, they understood that right now wasn’t the time for them to be preoccupied with that.

「What’s wrong?」

When Reiri inquired with a suspicious look, Himekawa shook her head and answered「There is nothing」 and lined up beside Kizuna.

『Currently, the battleship Ataraxia is approaching Thanatos’s world favorably. The time until our arrival is approximately twelve hours of this ship’s internal time.』

A staff officer chair was placed diagonally in front of the captain’s seat, where Reiri was sitting. The one sitting there was Shikina Kei. She was typing on her keyboard and the contents was displayed as text on the screen.

After Megafloat Ataraxia was stolen by Thanatos, the battleship Ataraxia changed course to Thanatos’s world urgently. The Oldium is currently taking separate action and is keeping their course heading towards Odin’s world.

There were also voices that felt cautious of dividing their battle strength, however――,

「We don’t have any intention of fighting Thanatos from the start. Until the end this is a rescue operation. If possible, it’s desirable if this is carried out covertly by a few elites. Besides, the Oldium also won’t be attacking. First please start from investigating. I also feel some kind of abnormality with the Golden Dragon, so I think it’s better to hurry with that side too.」

Those words of Nayuta made the others reluctantly agree.

In the end, they were still divided into two teams, where the Lemuria group was still on the battleship Ataraxia, and the Vatlantis group still inside the Oldium, each of them were heading towards their own destinations.

And then, the time to invade the stronghold of Thanatos was rapidly approaching Kizuna and the others on the battleship Ataraxia. Kizuna, Himekawa, and Yurishia who were assembled at the bridge had their expressions colored with nervousness. The only one who looked relaxed was Nayuta who was sitting on a chair that looked even more splendid than the captain’s seat.

「Well, please don’t be that nervous. If you are like that then even things you can succeed in will end in failure you know.」

Saying that, Nayuta then waved her fan. Reiri glared fiercely at such a Nayuta. However, she didn’t say anything and turned back to Kizuna and the others.

「Listen. The mission this time is not defeating Thanatos. It’s to infiltrate Thanatos’s world and rescue the captured Ataraxia students. That’s our objective. If we are going to exaggerate, than the most ideal situation is for you all to return here without firing even a single bullet.」

Yurishia raised her hand with a face that looked unconvinced.

「But what about Ataraxia? Is it okay to just leave it like that?」

「I don’t mind. One day the time to steal the world’s configuration information Thanatos has will come. We can leave Ataraxia in Thanatos’s custody until then. What we need is battle strength, and then the lives of our comrades.」

Nayuta narrowed her eyes staring at Reiri who was handing down orders with dignity. Kizuna felt like he had seen that look and expression of Nayuta somewhere. He suddenly remembered after thinking for a while.

It was when he was a child, perhaps at his upper grades in primary school. There was a student that raised his hand to answer the question the teacher asked at the parents’ day. When that student answered with a splendidly correct answer, a slight commotion occurred at the back of the classroom.

During the parents’ day, the students were told not to look behind just because their parents were coming. However, Kizuna looked back because he thought no one would mind anyway, after all his parents didn’t come. There a mother at the center of the commotion was smiling looking embarrassed, but also happy and proud somehow.

He recalled the smiling face he saw at that time.

「Kizuna, are you listening?」

「Eh? Aa, sorry――no, my apologies! Commander.」

Come to think of it, there was someone that made great mistakes when he answered a simple question from the teacher, and then he got laughed at if I remember right. When all is said and done, I’m in that guy’s position right now huh.

He somehow held back his face that almost broke into a smile.

「Do Climax Hybrid with a partner that is the most optimum for this rescue operation. You get that Kizuna?」

「Roger……but, optimum partner Nee-san said……who do you mean?」

Zelcyone’s face immediately came to mind, but unfortunately she was heading to Odin’s world in Oldium.

Reiri tilted her head slightly to the back and called out to empty air.

「Valdy. You’re there?」

――Valdy!?

The unexpected name caused Kizuna to be taken aback in surprise.

「Right here.」

The wall behind the captain seat flickered as though a shadow was peeled off from it. In the blink of an eye it became a substantial figure of a female, turning into Valdy, former Vatlantis Empire’s Imperial Guard, the one who was acting as the watcher and also the bodyguard of Nayuta.

Kizuna didn’t notice at all that she was standing there until now. As expected from the assassin of the Vatlantis Empire’s Imperial Guard. It was a splendid stealth ability.

However it seemed she received a really great shock after she was used and thrown away by Nayuta, but had she recovered from that? He didn’t understand her actual condition just from seeing her behavior. She was staring fixedly at Reiri and didn’t even glance at Nayuta. That appearance of hers looked like she had overcome her past, but it also looked like she was still dragging out something.

Himekawa was strangely bothered by that state of Valdy.

Perhaps it was because she had confessed? She was feeling an emotion that was close to jealousy inside her chest even more than until now hearing about Kizuna doing hybrid with another girl.

However, she shook her head trying to shake off such obstructive thoughts.

――This is a mission! Get a hold of yourself Himekawa Hayuru!

Yurishia tilted her head and spoke out her doubt.

「……You, you weren’t staying behind at Ataraxia because of injury? Even if you came along you should be on the Oldium right? You are one of the Vatlantis group after all.」

Valdy’s expression clouded.

「My injury……is fine already. Rather than that I have to protect……Reiri-sama’s safety.」

「「Re……Reiri-sama?」」

Kizuna and Yurishia’s expression convulsed spontaneously. However Himekawa turned to the other two and spoke with a relatively calm tone.

「Valdy-san’s admiration to the headmaster is famous among the girls don’t you two know? Ah……thinking back that’s at the Ataraxia that Professor Nayuta created, so I guess Yurishia-san doesn’t know about it.」

Kizuna murmured in surprise.

「Is, is that so……」

「Yes. Among the headmaster’s fans, Valdy-san is an existence that formed a matchless pair with Landred-sensei.」

「What kind of academy life were you all going through……」

Yurishia spoke with an astonished voice. And then she added saying, ‘I want to go to a school like that too.’

Valdy swore her loyalty once more in front of everyone there, but Reiri herself wasn’t even shocked. Most likely she had already heard that from the person herself many times. Reiri looked up at Valdy with a sharp look.

「Valdy, it’s just as you heard. Will you do it?」

Valdy sent a glance at Kizuna. Kizuna’s heart throbbed unconsciously from feeling startled.

Tall and thin body type like a model. Flexible and slender waist that made him want to say that it was truly a willowy waist. Her white skin and glossy long blue hair entangled on it was really sexy. And then, her hesitant attitude, her timid gaze, it stirred up his sadistic heart fiercely no matter how he felt about it.

She was a bewitching beautiful woman somewhat clad in a dangerous aroma.

「If that’s what Reiri-sama commanded……bu, but……」

「What?」

「That, this is Reiri-sama’s, little brother……is it okay? Because――」

「I don’t mind! I permit it!」

Reiri yelled with a voice that contained anger as though to veil up Valdy’s words. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but it looked like there were blood veins emerging on Reiri’s forehead.

Valdy who was already looking fearful even at the best of times opened her mouth in an excessively scared state.

「The, then……that, there is……just one thing, I want to request……」

「What, say it. I cannot promise that I’ll grant it for sure, but I’ll consider it depending on the situation.」

Valdy joined both her arms together and approached Reiri fidgetingly. And then she reservedly left some distance opened and whispered with a small voice that Kizuna and the others could not overhear.

The color of Reiri’s eyes were changing while she was listening to that whisper.

「Granted!」

――Instant answer!?

Kizuna and the others were spontaneously staring at Reiri and Valdy in a dumbfounded state. As for Nayuta, she was sinking into her chair while her face seemed to say ‘good grief’.

――Just what kind of request was it?

When Kizuna looked up at Reiri, Reiri was grinning with her eyes looked smiling.