Editing Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 2 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 3===

Although Tia had gone on a rampage, greatly damaging the training site, luckily, no one was injured.

Also because Mitsuki and I tried our hardest to intercede on her behalf, Tia's punishment was withheld for now.

However, Shinomiya-sensei also warned us that there would be no second chances.

&mdash;After all, the training site was damaged to the point that it required repairs before it could be used again.

Carrying Tia on my back, I went to the infirmary. Along the way, I recalled the pitiful condition of the training site, damaged from floor to ceiling by lightning.

Due to the severe damage caused to the facilities, the entire incident might have to be reported to Midgard's superior organization, Asgard. If further damage occurred, Asgard would definitely punish Tia.

&mdash;I need to have a proper discussion with her after she wakes up.

In order to help Tia become a member of Midgard, to become a fellow classmate in the truest sense, I had to make her a human.

I walked through the quiet corridor to arrive in front of the infirmary's door.

"Pardon the intrusion."

I opened the horizontally sliding door with a clatter, only to see that the person inside was not the school nurse who had looked after me on a number of occasions.

"...Eh?"

Staring at me in surprise was the girl who had chatted with me yesterday&mdash;Tachikawa Honoka. Dressed in gym clothes, she was sitting in a chair with her top lifted up, in the middle of sterilizing a wound on her flank.

"Kyah!?"

Honoka straightened her lifted top and turned her back to me. Originally frozen from excessive surprise, I also came back to my senses as a result of her scream.

"Oh... Umm, sorry! I'll wait outside."

Carrying Tia on my back, I was about to shut the door when Honoka frantically called to me.

"H-Hold on! Tia-san on your back is not feeling well, right? N-No need to mind me... Please come in."

"...Are you fine with it? Then pardon... the intrusion, okay?"

I felt as though someone had invited me into their bedroom. Stepping into the infirmary, I went to the innermost bed and unloaded the sleeping Tia from my back. Laying her out gently on the bed, I put a blanket on her before turning to face Honoka.

"Uh, looks like there's no one else here... Where did the nurse go?"

"Oh, the nurse is over at the clinic because there was someone with more serious injuries than me. She is currently treating that person."

"Serious injuries? Was there some kind of accident?"

Honoka's arms and legs had several pieces of gauze stuck to them. Before I arrived at the infirmary, she was already treating her own wounds.

"...Actually, I failed a transmutation during a practical. That's also why my classmate became injured."

She was referring to the student being treated at the clinic?

Honoka's class was apparently having a practical lesson at a different training site than ours.

"I see, although everyone makes mistakes... It must feel pretty bad that you hurt others."

"Yes... I will apologize to her properly afterwards. Whether or not she will forgive me, I don't know."

"That's true, no matter what the outcome, I think that's the best way to go about it."

Hearing me say that, Honoka smiled wryly.

"...You really aren't one to hand out comforting words, Yuu-san."

"Sorry, although I know that I should be encouraging you."

"No, compared to people who comfort others irresponsibly, I prefer someone like you."

I felt embarrassed by her description and scratched my face, looking away.

"&mdash;But anyway, even if there are other people injured, is it okay for the nurse to leave you alone, Honoka? I don't think there's a shortage of manpower..."

Although the school nurse was the only medical professional on duty, there should be other specialized doctors who were on call. To ensure the Ds' health, Midgard had a comprehensive medical care system.

"No, this really isn't anything serious... I offered to do the dressings myself because it's just putting on gauze after sterilizing."

Saying that, Honoka showed me the bottle of antiseptic liquid and gauze in her hands.

"But from what I saw just now, your wound is somewhere hard for your hand to reach, right?"

When she was sterilizing her flank just now, it looked like she was twisting her body in quite a forced posture.

"That's true... Some places are harder... Oh right, if it's okay with you... Could you help me?"

"Eh? M-Me?"

I widened my eyes greatly upon hearing these surprising words.

"Yes, on my back... Even if it's just this part."

Saying that, Honoka pulled her gym t-shirt up sightly.

My attention was drawn to her snow-white skin.

"Sure... If you don't mind."

Despite feeling troubled, I still approached her. I had learned first aid for the most part at NIFL. There was no need to falter at dressing a wound of this level.

"Then I'll apply the antiseptic. Are you really fine with this?"

Receiving the antiseptic and the gauze, I confirmed with her again. If things turned into sexual harassment after the fact, it would be too much to swallow.

"I'm counting on you, please... be gentle."

"O-Okay... Got it."

I gulped and nodded.

I walked over to the back of Honoka, who was sitting in a chair, and knelt down to treat her.

"...Mmm, ahh..."

Perhaps feeling some stinging, Honoka emitted inexplicably seductive moans. To distract myself as much as possible, I made conversation with her.

"Speaking of which, Honoka, you were discovered in the towns ahead of Basilisk's route of advance, right? You're Japanese no matter how I look, so why were you in that kind of place?"

I asked the question that had occurred to me during the full-school assembly. Honoka answered while enduring the stinging from her wound.

"My mother... Mmm... is someone who travels the world... Ah... As for me, I visit various places together with my mother."

"What an accomplished mother... Do you feel lonely, suddenly separated from her?"

"No... Our relationship is quite cold because I don't have a father or relatives... Mmm... In a certain sense, we stayed together because of circumstances, so it actually relieves me to become independent."

Honoka's reply was very calm and did not sound like a brave front.

"...That's so strong of you. Okay, dressing is done."

I examined the sterilized wound then applied the gauze, ending the treatment.

"Thank you, Yuu-san."

After Straightening out her clothing, Honoka thanked me.

"It was nothing. Well... Although it's embarrassing to say this, but from now on, you don't need to be so polite when asking friends for help."

"Friends... huh?"

Honoka's face looked like she had heard something unexpected. Her eyes were wide with surprise.

"Yeah, that's what I think. If you feel that I'm forcing things too much, then I apologize."

"No, nothing of that sort. I... am extremely glad."

Honoka smiled and shook her head.

"Great, then let's look after each other from now on."

"V-Very well, me too... Let's look after each other. S-So... I'd like to head over to the clinic to see how my classmate is doing."

Honoka lowered her head and bowed, then a little frantically, she walked to the infirmary's exit.

"Sure, see you."

I waved a hand in response. Honoka partially closed her eyes and smiled.

"Great&mdash;hope to talk to you again, then I'm off..."

She closed the door and the room suddenly turned silent.

&mdash;Hope?

Rather than waiting for chance encounters, perhaps I should write emails to her proactively.

Injuring a classmate might have repercussions for her. Although I might not be able to help much, it would be good for her to have someone to confide in at least. As her friend, I wanted to help her as much as possible.

Thinking about this kind of thing, I turned my gaze to the bed.

Tia was still sound asleep.

Zzzzzzzzzzz!

But at this moment, the terminal for the infirmary's internal line played a ringtone and the call lamp kept flashing.

"...Should I answer?"

I hesitated and looked at the infirmary's door. The school nurse did not look like she was returning yet.

&mdash;Maybe it might be for me.

I had reported to Shinomiya-sensei that I was taking Tia to the infirmary. Thinking it could be something to inform me, I pressed the pick up button on the screen despite my hesitation.

With an electronic sound, the screen immediately switched.

Then a face appeared on the screen, but it was someone I totally did not expect.

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

"...Major Loki?"

His name flew out of my mouth. It was the man who had been my direct commanding officer at NIFL.

On the other end, NIFL stared at me with his slender eyes. A gentle smile surfaced on his face.

'Until just now, I was still having a discussion with Colonel Shinomiya. Then I asked her to connect my call over to your end. Because I didn't even get a chance to talk to you during the personnel reassignment, I've been wanting to find a chance to chat with you.'

"Huh...? If it's chatting, last time&mdash;"

'What are you talking about, 2nd Lieutenant Mononobe? Ever since you transferred to Midgard, this is my first time speaking to you, isn't it?'

Hearing him say that, I remembered this was a public ine.

When Leviathan was attacking, Major Loki had exploited the opening in Midgardsormr switching to interception mode and secretly contacted me through my personal terminal. This was to talk about things that must not reach Midgard's ears, because he wanted me to kill the D whose dragon mark had changed color.

"Right... Yeah, Major Loki, because I feel that working under you was only recently, I made a mistake."

Left without a choice, I could only go along with him. If any problems arose from what I said arbitrarily, it would turn into Mitsuki's responsibility because she was the one supervising me.

'Haha, me too. Clearly you're no longer my subordinate, but I still worry about you. I've got something to tell you. Want to hear it?'

"Yes... What is it?"

Staring at Major Loki's fake smile, I nodded. Since it was something that could be said on a public line, it should not be something dangerous like last time.

'The dragon cult, the Sons of Muspell, is apparently plotting to recover Tia Lightning. Although I've already asked Midgard to pay more attention, you be careful too.'

The Sons of Muspell... was the name of the organization that had effectively kept Tia under house arrest in the past. If they knew about the dragonification of Ds, it was not difficult to understand why they wanted to retrieve Tia, but&mdash;

"Recover...? From Midgard here? I think they'll get eliminated by Midgardsormr the instant they approach, right...?"

'Yes, Midgard's defenses are impregnable. But supplies and personnel need to enter and exit. Although there are stringent checks, it is not entirely impossible to get through. And this time, beyond a doubt... Kili will make a move too."

The smile vanished from Major Loki's face this time.

"That Kili huh..."

Kili Surtr Muspelheim. The leader of the Sons of Muspell, she was also a D deemed a disaster... Although I did not think she could penetrate Midgardsormr, she was quite a strong threat indeed.

'Kili is very strong, 2nd Lieutenant Mononobe. Due to the information we received this time, alerting us that the Sons of Muspell had a D in their compound, NIFL mobilized all deployable forces. But the result was that Kili singlehandedly suppressed the majority.'

"The Sons of Muspell, are they doing this knowing that Ds will dragonify..."

'Arrested cultists did not seem to be in the know, but at least we can conclude that Kili knows. At the time, Tia Lightning was apparently just moved there from another facility. They probably intended to hand her to Basilisk as its mate instead of waiting for it to visit.'

In other words, Tia was originally in the process of being transported as a live sacrifice. If NIFL had acted slightly later, the second Basilisk would surely have been born.

"If they'll go so far to increase the number of dragons... I guess it's impossible they'll give up so easily."

'Indeed, Kili will definitely take some kind of action. If she infiltrates Midgard, a great disaster can be predicted. Please do not lower your guard at all. Considering that even Sleipnir could not handle her, she is probably stronger than you as you are right now.'

"...!"

I gasped. Major Loki had attempted to raise me as monster stronger than anyone else. Precisely because these words came from his mouth, I could understand how abnormal this D called Kili was.

'If possible, I'd really like to send out Sleipnir but Midgard won't allow NIFL to interfere that easily. Hence, if anything happens, 2nd Lieutenant Mononobe, I place my hopes you alone.'

"Clearly when Kili is stronger than me... You still have hopes for me?"

'Yes, even so, you are the only one who might be able to kill her. If there are people and things around you that you wish to protect, please abandon your silly obstinacy. This is my honest advice to you.'

Major Loki spoke to me with eyes that seemed to see through everything.

"...I'll bear that in mind."

It felt like my heart was being squeezed. I forced my voice out to respond.

'You would do well to remember that. Oh right, although this is pure just in case, I will send to your terminal all accumulated information regarding Kili to this date. Read over it when you have time.'

"Sure, thank you... for doing so much for me."

'You're welcome, I did this willingly. Also, Basilisk is still crossing the African continent. Things were sudden with Leviathan and NIFL was in chaos, but this time, we have plenty of time so you don't need to worry about unnecessary things.'

Major Loki spoke suggestively. Last time, NIFL had sent a team to kill Iris. He was probably hinting that no such operation would happen yet for now.

But in that case, the murderous intent I sensed last time was...

"...I got it."

Although there were still things that bothered me, I nodded for now in response.

'Then it's time I excused myself. Hope to talk to you again&mdash;2nd Lieutenant Mononobe.'

Major Loki smiled sarcastically then the call disconnected, turning the screen black.

"Kili huh..."

I uttered her name softly in my mouth. During training, she was often used as an imaginary enemy, hence I had no hesitation towards fighting, however&mdash;

"Yuu...?"

Just as I was staring at the pictureless screen, lost in thought, I suddenly heard a voice from behind.

"Tia, you woke up?"

Perhaps my conversation with Major Loki had woken her up. Tia had sat up in bed, looking at me with a troubled look.

"Why is... Tia in this kind of place? Tia should be with Yuu training just now..."

"&mdash;So you don't remember? Including this, I need to have a chat with you next, but this isn't a good place to talk. Let's go to the beach, okay?"

Hearing my suggestion, Tia showed an expression of joy.

"Yes, Tia wants to see the sea with Yuu again."

Although the notion of bringing gloom to that smiling face pained my heart, I still took Tia by the hand as she ran towards it.

The husband and the dragon's wife.

This ill-matched game of playing house&mdash;It was probably about to end soon.