Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume3 Chapter5 (section)

===Part 3===

The Knights' general meeting started.

What Ellis spoke about was the special quest for the Valentia Holy Festival.

"Today, the academy lectures are cancelled. Many academy students would end up flocking to the town because of the Valentia Holy Festival. In order to prevent dueling incidents from occurring in front of ordinary townspeople, all members, be cautious and take on the quest."

"Yes!"

The Knights girls all replied at once.

They were few in number, but they were superior elementalists. As expected, their morale was high.

However— there also seemed to be people harboring dissatisfaction about Ellis taking command among the upperclassmen.

Kamito didn't miss the fact that several people were plainly making seemingly dissatisfied faces.

(...I see, this is why Ellis also has it tough.)

It was the jealousy towards their junior, whose pedigree and ability was superior.

Sylphid Knights, which looked well-ordered, seemed to have various things going on internally.

However, Ellis ignored those upperclassmen and continued.

"Those Cursed Armament Seal merchants —{{Furigana|Corpse Federation's|Murders|margin=12}} people— seemed to have infiltrated into the Academy Town. They may be plotting to use this chance for some sort of contact with the academy students that are going out into the town. If you catch them in the act, please deal with it with your own judgment. Well then, dismiss—"

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"—Hold on!"

Suddenly a sharp voice came from behind Kamito.

The steel door was forcefully and cleanly pushed open, and daylight shone in at once.

"...!?"

All of them were taken aback and turned around.

The one standing before the door was— a knight of a beautiful face with the appearance of an ice sculpture.

She had brilliant shiny blonde hair and cold piercing ice blue pupils. She was wearing a pure white overcoat on top of her uniform— it was a prestige overcoat that only the academy's top ranker was allowed to wear.

(The academy's strongest elementalist— Velsaria Eva.)

Something chilly ran through Kamito's spine. She, who he had faced at the arena at the Blade Dance three years ago, shouldn't have this much of a sense of intimidation.

Velsaria made a sound with her hard iron shoes and slowly walked over.

"Esteemed sister, why are you here...!"

"It seems that the pawns have decreased considerably in numbers during the time I was absent."

"Esteemed sister... did you say something just now?"

"I said the pawns have decreased. That's all."

"...!"

Ellis sternly lifted her eyebrows at Velsaria's spoken harsh remark.

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"Are you calling the comrades of the Knights pawns?!"

"Pawns are pawns— Furthermore, they are useless sacrificial pawns. Without even being able to capture just one assailant, they were completely defeated on the contrary."

"It doesn't matter to me. However, I would like you to stop insulting the girls, who splendidly carried out their duties. Even if you are the former captain."

Velsaria looked down on Ellis, who protested, with her cold piercing eyes.

"I am a Fahrengart knight, I have never taken back words I have said."

"You...!"

"Or, you could try making me yield with brute force, Captain?"

Velsaria's thin fingers got hold of Ellis' chin.

"...!?"

Being overwhelmed by her stern gaze, Ellis spontaneously averted her eyes.

Velsaria shook her head like she was disappointed.

"Ellis, it was a mistake to entrust you with the Knights."

"—Wait."

Kamito grasped Velsaria's arm from the side.

He thought that he shouldn't meddle into the Knights' problems, but— getting Ellis involved was, as expected, something he couldn't stay silent about.

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"When Jio Inzagi attacked the academy, Ellis rushed over there the fastest and fought. You don't have the right to condemn Ellis."

"Ka-Kamito..."

Ellis widened her eyes in shock.

"—Oh?"

Velsaria quickly released her hand from Ellis' chin.

"You're the male elementalist, who's said to have been admitted here with Lady Greyworth's recommendation, right?"

"Yes, so what of it?"

Kamito directly glared back at her cold piercing ice blue eyes.

"The one who captured that assailant was you, is that right?"

"It wasn't just me. The reason I won was because I fought together with the comrades of my team."

"Don't be modest. I can't understand why you're hiding your strength, but—"

Velsaria's sharp discernment shot through Kamito.

(...This person, don't tell me she knows my true identity?)

Cold sweat surfaced on Kamito's forehead.

...No, that couldn't be it. The time he met her was three years ago. Kamito's current looks should be very different from the time, when he was an innocent boy.

Velsaria—

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"Your true strength is something I want to test out by all means."

"...What?"

Suddenly, one of her hands was raised overhead.
[[Image:STnBD V03 124.jpg|thumb]]

"...!?"

At that moment, a tremendous shock was radially released!

There was a thunderous sound as the whole cathedral shook.

The girls in the surroundings were blown away by the shock and thrown onto the wall.

There was a cloud of dust densely hanging over and marble tiles that were cruelly flipped up.

It was the spirit magic of the earth attribute— considering that its recital time was almost zero, it was of extraordinary power.

The ones that could avoid the shock— were only Ellis and several upperclassmen.

Kamito covered for Est and had taken the spirit magic flat on directly.

As he had reacted, he didn't collapse but his uniform was worn-out.

"You, what are you doing...?"

"Hmm, surprisingly, some remained."

Velsaria calmly moved her hand to her chin, and looked around in order to glare at the girls.

And then—

"You and you, and then... you two."

She nominated the four knights, who were standing without falling, one by one.

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"Esteemed sister, what on earth are you planning?!"

Enraged, Ellis drew closer to Velsaria.

"I'm making my selection. The people whom I nominated just now will be admitted into my team."

"Such a selfish thing—"

Her selection— was trying to headhunt the members of the Knights, which had few people even during normal circumstances.

Ellis could not stay silent.

"I don't intend to force them. It's all up to their own will to decide."

"Wh—?"

Ellis became taken aback and looked at the four nominated upperclassmen.

The four bewilderedly mutually exchanged glances, but—

"Y-Yes...!"

"It's an honor to be selected into Velsaria-dono's team!"

"Please include me by all means."

"M-Me too!"

They replied all together unanimously.

"...!"

Ellis chewed her lips, seemingly vexed.

She couldn't condemn the girls.

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To be admitted into the team of the academy's strongest elementalist —ranking number one, Velsaria— was almost the same as obtaining a guaranteed ticket into the Blade Dance.

That temptation was too great, certainly because they were powerful people.

Besides, the girls were upperclassmen— members of the Knights when Velsaria was captain. In that case, they might be smoldering dissatisfaction from the start at the matter that Ellis was the captain like Kamito imagined just now.

"..."

As expected, it was probably awkward, so the girls didn't try to look at Ellis' face.

Velsaria faced toward Kamito.

"You surprised me— you had the time to cover for your contracted spirit with that distance. How about it, won't you join my team too. You seem to be able to at least be my outrider."

"I refuse. I'm with the hell cat girl's team."

Kamito glared back at Velsaria.

"Team Scarlet— Calamity Queen's sister's team that is currently in sixth place? Well, that's fine, if you won't be my pawn, then I'll just have to crush you."

Velsaria averted her line of sight as she lost interest—

And signaled the girls she headhunted from the Knights with her eyes.

As she made the clacking steel shoe sounds, she left the headquarters building.

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Later—

The only things that remained were a cruelly up-turned mountain of rubble, plus Ellis and her comrades, in a dumbfounded state.