Editing Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 6 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 3===

After breakfast the next day, Ren and I decided to formally start practicing the transmission of dark matter.

Our training location was the helipad on the roof.

Ren's dark matter generating capacity was quite massive. If the entirety of that dark matter was used, it would make a fictional armament dozens of meters in size. The lab did not have any spacious training site like in Midgard, so our only choice was outdoors.

The lab building was the tallest structure in the area, so there was no worry of getting seen by ordinary people from the ground.

"What fine weather we have today. It's very sunny and visibility gives us a view of distant scenery."

Serving as our coach, Lisa accompanied us and commented while looking out at the scenery.

Although the sea breeze blowing from Tokyo Bay was a bit strong, the sunlight was very comfortable.

Without nothing to block us, the view was quite magnificent. The scenery of dense buildings filling up the entire land seemed to pressure the viewer.

I turned my gaze. Mount Fuji's snow-covered peak entered my view and next to it was—

"So Yggdrasil is visible even from here."

The outline of the giant tree, even taller than Mount Fuji was vaguely visible.

"Mm."

Hearing me, Ren nodded with a stiff expression in response.

"Because it is 5000 meters tall. Now that I look at it again, it is truly an astounding size."

Staring at Yggdrasil afar, Lisa shrugged.

"So Tia and everyone will be fighting that kind of thing..."

Accompanying us to watch, Tia commented uneasily.

I thought she would cheer up after one day but her expression still seemed gloomy.

"But since the trunk is relatively narrow, it might feel less intimidating than Hekatonkheir."

Here to watch together with Tia, Iris remarked, bringing a wry smile to Lisa's face.

"You definitely won't be able to say that once you get near."

Ren, Lisa, Tia, Iris and I, the five of us were the only ones at the helipad on the roof.

Mitsuki, Firill, Ariella and Shinomiya-sensei were strategizing. Iris and Tia had nothing to do because they could not participate.

Their ways of thinking leaned more towards intuition and were unsuited to discussions based on theory and logic.

"Left alone, Yggdrasil might grow further. We have to train immediately to defeat it before that happens. Mononobe Yuu, Ren-san, are you ready?"

Facing us, Lisa confirmed.

"Yeah."

"Mm."

Ren and I nodded and started to practice transferring dark matter.

The same as what we did yesterday.

Ren placed her hand on my summoned fictional armament and poured in dark matter.

To prevent the expanding Siegfried from collapsing, I controlled as much as I could, stabilizing it while gradually growing its size.

The fictional armament expanded like a balloon. Since this was before transmutation, it was almost weightless. Even after surpassing palm-size, as long as thoughts were transmitted successfully, holding it up was easy.

However, it collapsed even earlier than the attempt last night. I failed to control Ren's dark matter. Losing stability, the fictional armament turned into bubbles and disappeared.

"—Pull yourself together. Are you not concentrating enough?"

Watching from the side, Lisa scolded harshly.

Perhaps she was right. Seeing the female soul in Miyazawa Kenya's lab and Tia's gloominess was affecting my concentration. Also, I was distracted by Iris watching nearby.

Last night, if Miyazawa Kenya had not called, what would have happened? Somewhere in a corner of my mind, I was thinking weird stuff like that.

"Sorry, I've got too many random thoughts. Please let me try again."

I apologized to Lisa and Ren.

"Onii-chan?"

Ren looked at me with worried eyes.

"Don't worry, I'll focus this time and only look at you, Ren."

I drove away all useless thoughts from my mind and stared straight at Ren's face.

"...Mm."

Ren looked away slightly embarrassed and nodded.

Since her father refused to listen to her speak, Ren had given up talking.

Then I must not miss any of her voice.

—If Ren's mother were still alive, Ren would probably love to talk more.

Although I believed that, such a hypothetical future was meaningless, so I prepared to switch mindsets.

But at this moment, a certain idea flashed across my mind.

Back when his wife was still alive, Miyazawa Kenya used to be a father who took his daughter to an amusement park.

Did he end up like this because his wife was too precious to him?

Perhaps—

I looked at Ren's face carefully from up close.

"...? Onii-chan?"

Ren tilted her head, somewhat troubled.

"—No, it's nothing. One more time, let's begin."

Since it was a spur-of-the-moment idea, I temporarily hid my doubts in the depths of my heart.

Lisa, Iris and Tia were nearby. Even if I wanted to discuss with Ren, it was not something to talk about in front of others.

Deciding to find a chance later, I formed my fictional armament in my right hand—



Practicing repeatedly with Ren, I gradually got the hang of it.

Initially, expanding my fictional armament to triple its size was the limit, but by the time noon came around, I could already create a fictional armament on the scale of several meters.

Even so, the success rate was still below 30% and I was still unable to control all of Ren's dark matter. Currently, the amount of Ren's dark matter I could use in my fictional armament was probably one-tenth of her maximum capacity, quite far from the goal.

Although we needed to continue training, a task demanding focus would sap mental strength, accumulating fatigue. Seeing my stamina quite depleted, Lisa asked us to stop.

"—Take a break for now and have lunch. You both seem exhausted, so let me go buy something for you."

Seeing Ren and I sitting on the floor in exhaustion, Lisa smiled wryly and offered.

As the provider, Ren had tried many different things to make her dark matter easier for me to control, which was why she had tired herself out significantly.

"Thanks Lisa, I'm counting on you."

There was a vendor corner in the lab's dining hall, which should sell stuff like onigiri and bread.

"Mm."

Ren lowered her head and bowed to thank Lisa.

"The weather is nice, so I'll go invite Mitsuki-san and the others to eat on the roof. Iris-san, Tia-san, let us be on our way."

Lisa called to the two observers but did not get a response.

The two girls were sitting in a warm spot under the sun, leaning against each other, sleeping comfortably.
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v06 197.jpg|thumb]]

"...Looks like they are enjoying an afternoon nap. No helping it, I shall buy lunch for everyone."

Lisa shrugged in exasperation and head to the stairwell.

The wind blew across this roof that had become quiet. Staring into the cloudless sky, I saw a vast stretch of blue.

Phew—Feeling as though I was expelling fatigue from my body, I exhaled deeply.

"Onii-chan."

Ren immediately spoke to me.

"What is it?"

I asked and Ren took a deep breath before asking me with her voice:

"......A-Are you okay?"

Surprised that Ren did not communicate by typing on her terminal, I reacted a bit slowly.

"Y-Yeah, I'm okay. Although I'm a bit tired, I'll recover my energy after eating lunch."

I answered this way to reassure Ren but she shook her head.

She took a deep breath then asked a moment later:

"Not talking about that...... Left arm."

Ren turned her gaze to my left arm in its cast and showed an uneasy look.

"I see, you're worried about the time limit. Relax, currently, there are no signs of Yggdrasil's control."

"But...... Must hurry. I-I'll try my best."

This time, Ren told me immediately with a serious expression. Whether practicing the transmission of dark matter or getting closer to me, Ren was giving her all for my sake.

Feeling a sense of warmth spreading from my heart, I stroked Ren's head.

"—Thank you, I'll try my best too."

"Mm."

Ren nodded in response.

Although the conversation ended, this tranquility was refreshing for the body and mind.

Since Iris and Tia were napping, Ren and I were virtually alone. Perhaps now was the chance to confirm the idea that had occurred to me just now.

"Ren, I want to ask you, do you have anything like a family photo from before?"

"...?"

Ren stared in surprise at me in response to my abrupt question.

"Oh no, I was thinking you probably resemble your mother. For example, this beautiful red hair doesn't seem like Director Miyazawa..."

After I frantically explained my reason, Ren took out her portable terminal and showed a picture on the screen.

"Mm."

A tall redhaired woman was in the photo, together with a younger and more tidily dressed Miyazawa Kenya—along with a young Ren.

A Ferris wheel could be seen in the background. The photo was most likely taken when they visited an amusement park as a family.

"This is your mother, Ren?"

I confirmed with her and Ren nodded.

"Mm, Miyazawa, Rena."

Miyazawa Rena—That seemed to be Ren's mother's name.

I could not help but gasp. When Miyazawa Kenya saw the manifested spirit last night, he had mentioned the same name.

A human dead body kept under heavy security by Miyazawa Kenya. If it was someone special to him, was there a possibility it might be his deceased wife?

What surfaced in my mind earlier was this kind of unfounded speculation. But after hearing her name, my suspicions instantly increased.

I looked at the photo while recalling the female soul I saw last night, but I could not determine if it was the same person.

However, Rena-san in the photo really resembled Ren. Facing the camera were two similar cheerful smiles.

The young Ren, showing no signs of her current timid personality, was holding Rena-san's hand tightly.

"Ren must love Rena-san very much."

"...Mm."

With nostalgia and a bit of sadness, Ren nodded.

What should I do? Should I tell her my suspicions?

I felt hesitant but I had no evidence. And judging from the situation last night, I would not get an answer even if I questioned him. Besides, if my hunched turned out to be right, it might only end up hurting Ren.

But... If I did nothing, it would only maintain the status quo. If that really was Rena-san's soul, it might be the key to repairing Ren and Miyazawa Kenya's relationship. I could not give up on that possibility.

"Ren, I'll take you somewhere later. I'll pick you up tonight, so please wait for me."

I made my decision and spoke.

Let's take Ren directly to Miyazawa Kenya's lab to confirm.

Even using the current state of silent understanding, I should be able to produce more Ether Wind compared to yesterday.

If I told Miyazawa Kenya this, he would not say no, right?

However, if that really were Rena-san's coffin, then he might avoid letting Ren see it... But even if he refused, it would serve as a basis for judgment.

"...Mm."

Despite showing doubt, Ren still stared at me and nodded lightly.



After dinner that night I called Miyazawa Kenya on an internal line and got permission to visit.

Then I went to pick up Ren at her room and took the elevator again like last time.

The elevator descended to the fourth floor underground again. When the doors opened, I could see Miyazawa Kenya waiting in the lab already.

"I am very happy that you approached me to assist in my research, and today, Ren came along."

Looking at me and Ren, he smiled.

"...Mm."

Ren hid behind my back and looked at me uneasily.

"Please let us repeat yesterday's experiment together. I should be able to produce more Ether Wind than yesterday."

I stroked Ren's head to reassure her and said to Miyazawa Kenya.

"Of course, no problem. Come, over this way."

He agreed readily and led us to the partition inside the laboratory.

It looked like he did not mind showing Ren that coffin and the woman's soul.

Perhaps I guessed wrongly? Although I felt worried, it was too late to turn back.

With a heavy sound, I stepped into the inner side of the partition and saw the white coffin again.

"Mm..."

Ren was shivering from the cold air inside the room.

"Ren, I think you must have many questions... But I hope you'll lend me dark matter like we practiced today."

I spoke to Ren after generating Siegfried in my right hand.

Perhaps you might be able to see Rena-san's soul—I could not bring myself to say that. Because if things did not happen as predicted, Ren might be very hurt to have her expectations betrayed.

"Mm, I trust you."

Ren nodded and replied, putting her tiny hand on my fictional armament.

Instantly, Siegfried expanded rapidly, reaching a size of five meters.

"—Ren, stop. If it expands more, it won't fit in the room."

I barely managed to maintain the fictional armament's shape while telling Ren to stop. Although the room size was an issue, during today's practice, this was also the limit in weapon size. A moment of carelessness and the fictional armament would collapse, so it was impossible to sustain for a long duration.

Before it collapsed, I converted all of the dark matter contained in the fictional armament into Ether Wind.

"Ether Bullet!"

A giant bullet of dark matter shot out, turning into golden particles.

Not limited to the coffin's surroundings, the entire room was shrouded by shining particles.

"...!"

Since the particles filled the space densely, my body could not move and I could not make a sound.

This was the same phenomenon as when Hraesvelgr sealed our movements.

As soon as living humans were enveloped by these particles, they entered a state with their spirit sealed inside the physical body, preventing the body from moving.

Perhaps I had slightly misjudged the required amount. Ren and Miyazawa Kenya were frozen with surprised expressions on their faces.

Amidst such a high density of Ether Wind, a woman's silhouette appeared over the coffin.

Like drawing a picture, tiny particles gradually traced out an outline.

Gradually, the details of the face and her hairstyle could be discerned, but—

No...

She was not the Miyazawa Rena I saw in the photo Ren had shown me.

I could not tell the color of her hair, neatly cropped at shoulder length. Due to being made of Ether Wind, she was golden from head to foot. But judging from her Japanese facial features, her hair color was probably black.

She looked very young, similar to my age.

And somehow, there was a familiar feeling, she seemed to resemble a certain someone... That was the impression I got from the young woman in front of me.

The manifested soul of the girl stood expressionlessly without moving. Perhaps lacking consciousness, she simply stared blankly into space.

Even if we wanted to talk to her, our bodies were unable to move due to the excessive density of the particles.

Thus, time simply flowed by. As the particles gradually faded away, the girl's figure became fuzzy. By the time we could make a sound, the girl had already disappeared. I sighed.

"...So it's not Rena-san."

Due to excessive disappointment, I accidentally blurted my thoughts out.

Hearing me say that, Miyazawa Kenya went "ahh, I see now" in realization.

"Mononobe-kun, you originally thought that was Rena's coffin, didn't you?"

"!?"

Ren looked at me in surprise.

"...Yes, because when seeing that soul yesterday... You mentioned the name of Rena."

It was useless to hide it at this point, so I nodded in admission.

"Very regrettably, the coffin only contains an ordinary research sample. The reason I mentioned Rena's name was because we had researched Ether Wind together to confirm its properties. You've shown me an interesting phenomenon this time, and for that, I thank you."

Miyazawa Kenya thanked me dutifully. I looked away.

Thinking back, I recalled he had said "our inferences were correct." He was simply happy because his and Rena-san's research were proven to be correct.

"...Onii-chan?"

Ren tugged my clothing as though demanding an explanation.

"Sorry, Ren. I was originally wondering if I might be able to let you meet Rena-san's soul, that's why I brought you here, but my hunch was wrong."

I apologized to Ren, feeling sorry for her.

Immediately, Miyazawa Kenya smiled wryly and said to us:

"You are truly... considerate for Ren. By this point, rather than feeling annoyed, I have to respect you instead."

His words were filled with mockery, but I felt that rather than directed towards me, he was targeting himself.

"You probably hope for Ren and I to become an ordinary father-daughter pair, but that's already impossible. This might affect my research if I keep ignoring this problem, so let me make things clear right now."

Putting away his fake smile, he spoke with a serious expression.

"By saying impossible... Have you considered Ren's feelings?"

He sighed after hearing my question.

"I am a man unfit to be a father, having chosen research instead of my daughter. At the same time, I'm a terrible human being who has no scruples when it comes to research. Please don't harbor any expectations for someone like me."

"...!"

Ren gasped and gripped my clothing tightly.

Then Miyazawa Kenya spoke the decisive words to the tearful Ren.

"Listen carefully, Ren. I—cannot love you."

Ren looked up at him, dumbstruck.

"You bastard—"

I desperately suppressed the urge to punch him.

I regretted bringing Ren here so recklessly. I did not want her to hear something like that.

"...You."

Head down, Ren seemed to be saying something quietly.

"Ren?"

"......Hate...... you..."

Shoulders shaking, Ren kept repeating the same words in her mouth.

"If you have something to say, could you speak clearly?"

Miyazawa Kenya quietly urged her. Ren looked up and—yelled loudly.

"I hate you! I hate you the most, Father!!"

I heard Ren's angry voice for the first time, echoing inside the room. I stared in shock at her angry appearance.
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v06 209.jpg|thumb]]

Ren was glaring at her father directly. Feeling the gaze of those intense eyes, Miyazawa Kenya smiled.

For some reason, I could sense relief in his smile.

"Very well. Hate me. Go find love away from me. That way, Ren, you'll surely obtain happiness."

"I'm already have a lot of happiness! Because I have Onee-chan and Onii-chan, I don't want Father at all!"

It was an irrevocable falling out.

But in my eyes, this also seemed to be the first time these two people were speaking from the heart to each other.

"Then there's no problem. I will focus on research without anything to worry about."

"Suit yourself. I'll get close to Onii-chan as much as possible."

Saying that, Ren hugged my right arm tightly.

"R-Ren?"

Troubled, I called her name. Ren showed uneasiness on her face.

"Onii-chan... You don't want to be close with me?"

"Of course I want to."

I hastily reassured her. A smile instantly bloomed on Ren's face.

"...I'm so glad. You'll continue to be my Onii-chan from now on?"

Ren happily rubbed her cheek against my arm, asking me to dote on her.

"Do this kind of thing back in your rooms? You'll get in the way of research. Please leave."

Miyazawa Kenya spoke impatiently.

"...I don't need you to tell us to leave."

Pulling my hand, Ren walked towards the elevator.

Despite hearing cold words, Ren's expression no longer wavered.

Not only that, she seemed to have let go of certain hang-ups, showing a cheerful and refreshing expression.

I looked in Miyazawa Kenya's direction. He had already turned around.

"Onii-chan, thank you."

Ren thanked me while she walked.

"Huh? No, I didn't do anything deserving of thanks, right?"

Not only that, I accomplished nothing at all. It was a huge failure.

"Of course not, Onii-chan. I'm so happy you tried to let me meet Mother. And I got to argue with Father... This is good."

Ren shook her head and told me that.

"Ren..."

Because of me, because I had brought Ren here, their relationship was destroyed beyond repair.

Ren could not possibly feel no sadness. But even so, Ren did not cry. She still continued to move forward bravely. In that case, I should encourage her instead of apologizing.

"Okay, let's report back to Ariella that you gave that damn father a good tongue lashing."

"Mm."

Ren answered me with a smile.

Then just as we were about to take the elevator, a shrill alarm sounded in the lab.

"What's going on?"

Ren and I stopped and looked around.

Miyazawa Kenya ran over to the desk and picked up the internal phone.

"What happened?"

I heard him inquire the other side. I observed his situation for now, only to see him put down the phone and say to us:

"—Both of you, we have an emergency."

"Did something happen?"

Ren and I walked over to him.

Ren looked a bit embarrassed but now was not the time to be concerned about that kind of thing.

"Yggdrasil is apparently extending branches rapidly, expanding its interference range. In a few hours, this research lab and its surroundings will be subjected to electrical malfunctions."

"What... Why so suddenly—"

"Who knows. Perhaps it is making a preemptive strike before you can prepare yourselves fully. In any case, please head over to the main entrance on the ground floor. I will contact the other Ds and arrange a vehicle. You will get away from Yggdrasil as quickly as possible, because you will be unable to generate dark matter once you enter its interference range."

Even in such a situation, he calmly issued orders without any signs of anxiety.

"Can't you prepare a helicopter?"

"It's not that I can't but I wouldn't recommend it. Since all it takes is a tiny bit of interference to bring down a flight. The same goes for using transmutation to fly in the sky."

"...That's true. I understand. Then we'll be on our way."

I nodded in agreement. Then he said in a carefree tone of voice:

"Great, please do your best so that I can keep carrying out my research here."

Hearing that, Ren frowned and made a face at him then pulled me by the hand.

"...Onii-chan, let's go."

"Yeah."

I smiled wryly while following Ren into the elevator.