Editing Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 8 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 3===

Once Jeanne's emotions had calmed, we returned to the van's location. Kili and the girls were already back from their bath.

"Hey Yuu, where did you go? We were waiting the whole time for you to peek, you know?"

With her hand on her hip, Kili complained to me.

"Hold on, Kili-san! I was certainly not waiting for him!"

However, Lisa corrected her.

"My, oh really? While we were bathing, you seemed quite unsettled the whole time."

"I-I was purely being vigilant against voyeurs."

"Oh, but—"

Just as Kili was about to joke with Lisa again, she seemed to realize something and stopped mid-sentence.

"Oh dear, John, your eyes are red. Don't tell me something happened?"

Kili cocked her head, seemingly intrigued, and asked Jeanne.

"......"

Jeanne avoided eye contact with a complicated expression. Seeing her like that, Kili said quietly:

"No way... Did you get found out?"

"...Indeed."

In response to Kili's query, Jeanne nodded lightly to admit.

"However... The Captain's magnanimity was greater than I imagined. He still acknowledged me even after knowing my secret, he accepted everything about me!"

Jeanne clenched her fist and spoke with fervor.

"...What happened?"

Unclear what the situation was, Firill came over and asked.

"Oh, basically the fact that she's actually a girl. Although it's a shame that I've lost material to make fun of her—But now I can call her Jeanne-chan regardless of who's around."

Kili shrugged and answered, instantly causing a commotion among the girls.

"Jeanne-chan? So that's her real name?"

Tia asked with surprise all over her face.

"Yes, it's a nice name that suits her well, right?"

Kili replied, smiling happily.

"To be honest, I knew from the start."

"Mm... Ariella, no fair."

Ariella smiled wryly while Ren looked out from behind her back, protesting quietly.

"John-san—no, I suppose I should call you Jeanne-san now? I initially thought you were quite delicate... But never did I suspect you were a girl—"

Lisa scrutinized Jeanne from head to foot and back a number of times, then remarked in an impressed tone of voice.

"...By the way, I'm personally more curious about Mononobe-kun accepting everything about her."

Saying that, Firill looked at me coldly.

"Mononobe-kun, what did you do to her? Don't tell me... The instant you found out her gender, you couldn't repress your desire—"

"How is that even possible!?"

I yelled at Firill and Jeanne nodded vigorously too.

"Indeed. The Captain won't do that sort of thing. Instead he was gentle—he simply hugged me."

In that instant, my skin could feel the girls' gazes on me turning icy cold.

"Mononobe-kun... You're so unfaithful."

Firill pouted and glared at me.

"I can't really support such behavior..."

"Mm."

Ariella looked exasperated while Ren agreed with her.

"(glare)..."
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v08 157.jpg|thumb]]

I felt an extra sharp and stinging gaze, only to see Iris narrowing her eyes at me from the van's window.

"No, I wasn't thinking anything dirty!"

I protested, mainly to explain to Iris.

"Oh? But in such a situation... Mitsuki-chan would surely say 'Nii-san is such a jerk,' wouldn't she?"

"Urgh..."

"—Mononobe is such a jerk."

Iris pouted and withdrew into the van.

"H-Hey—"

I hastily tried to enter the van, but just at that moment, Shinomiya-sensei looked out from the driver's seat.

"Please assemble, everyone! The situation has changed."

We looked at one another then gathered around Shinomiya-sensei who had gotten out of the driver's seat. Despite feeling bothered by my affairs and withdrawing herself into the van, Iris still came outside.

"Shinomiya-sensei, did something happen?"

Lisa asked on everyone's behalf and Shinomiya-sensei nodded bitterly.

"Yes. Kraken Zwei is moving faster than predicted."

"Meaning she suddenly accelerated...? But why—"

Firill tilted her head in puzzlement.

"The reason is this."

Shinomiya-sensei declared stiffly then showed us the screen on her portable terminal.

Shown there was Kraken Zwei, entirely wrapped in silver hair. Although her appearance was the same as before, there seemed to be—something not quite right.

"She grew bigger..."

Only after hearing Ariella's murmur did I realize what was wrong. Because a transmission tower in the background looked especially tiny.

"Ariella Lu is correct. Kraken Zwei is moving faster because she has grown in size. Currently, the body length is roughly fifteen meters."

Kili examined the screen carefully and brought her hand to the side of her mouth.

"Rather than her body itself growing in size, it's more like the mithril hair, which serves as her limbs, has extended in length. If dark matter was used for biogenic transmutation, then such a change occurring in this short amount of time is also—!"

However, she held her right hand mid-sentence. The dragon mark was glowing intensely with purple light.

"It hurts..."

Tia and the others, whose dragon marks were still changing in color, all pressed their hands on the locations of their respective dragon marks.

"W-What's wrong, everyone? Ah, Ren, are you okay?"

Iris panicked and showed concern for Ren, who had crouched down.

Judging from what I could see, the dragon mark symptoms did not affect Iris.

'The slowing in the dragon mark's change in color is because her nature as a dragon has increased in comparison to her nature as a D.'

Without warning, Vritra's earlier words placed reality before my eyes.

I spontaneously looked towards the van, only to see a faint purple glow leaking from the inside.

"—!"

I ran to the van and peered inside. As expected, the light source was the neck of Mitsuki who was lying down on the seats.

"Oooh..."

Stuck in deep slumber all this time, Mitsuki moaned in pain.

"Mitsuki!"

I approached and held Mitsuki's hand, calling her name.

"......Miyako."

From Mitsuki's mouth, moaning as though yearning for air, I heard a faint sound.

What she said was the name of the best friend whom she had personally executed.

Was Mitsuki having a nightmare of that time? Or did she superimpose Miyako with the Kraken Zwei that was seeking her? I could not tell.

But the dragon mark's increased glow also conveyed clearly to me Kraken Zwei's determination to take Mitsuki and the other girls.

"I will protect you."

I swore to my precious and beloved little sister then exited the vehicle. Everyone's gaze was focused on me.

"The glow of Mitsuki's dragon mark has also increased. That's probably because Kraken Zwei is approaching."

"—'Tis not all."

Originally silent, Vritra swept her strong gaze across everyone in turn.

"Ye should realize by now, what the Kraken's child seeks is not family but mates. Persuasion is meaningless behavior."

"It's not meaningless! As long as I go, that child will surely—"

Jeanne immediately objected but she stopped talking once she saw that the girls with changing dragon marks did not voice their support.

Just as the tense silence was reaching breaking point, Shinomiya-sensei took a step forward.

"No matter what, we are out of time. The risk in approaching her to persuade her has increased. Hence, we will change tactics."

"—!"

Jeanne bit her lip with chagrin surfacing on her face.

"However, please do not misunderstand. I have not abandoned the possibility of persuasion. It's just that we will observe her while minimizing risk as much as possible."

"Huh..."

Jeanne reacted with surprise at what Shinomiya-sensei said.

"I will inform everyone of the plan's details while on the move. All participants in the operation, move out with me immediately!"

Shinomiya-sensei issued orders sternly.

"—Yes ma'am!"

Lisa and Firill head their heads high and puffed out their chests, answering loudly.

About to head to the scene, Shinomiya-sensei's figure exuded "strength" that I could feel from her days as the captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad which I had never witnessed—