Editing Chronicle Legion:Volume 1 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 4===

Inside the ground floor hall of the nation-protecting keep, Masatsugu sighed.

Floating in midair, a giant window was serving as a screen, playing a certain video.

It was showing the aerial battle between Legions in the sky near the Suruga tutelary fort&mdash;An intense clash between the army of Kamuys led by Chevalier Kamamoto against the British army of Crusades.

"So one-sided..." groaned Masatsugu.

After Chevalier Kamamoto's death in battle, the Kamuys clearly became more sluggish.

Whenever the Crusades approached, the Kamuys would swing their bayonet rifles to engage. Unfortunately, they were too slow, completely failing to dodge or parry enemy attacks. Conversely, the Kamuys' attacks all missed.

Like this, it was impossible to stand up to the British army with their strength advantage.

Even so, the twenty-seven Kamuys did not give up fighting. Even though their attacks frequently missed, they persisted in firing their guns at the Crusades and stabbing with their bayonets.

Normally speaking, when a Chevalier died, the Legions under his command would disappear.

"Is it the Chevalier's final will...?" Masatsugu whispered to himself. Inexplicably, he felt a sense of certainty.

Occasionally, Legions would carry out their late master's final command as though to uphold their dying wish. This was especially true for Japan's mainstay Legion, the Kamuy, whose loyalty to commands was particularly notable.

As soon as he figured out the reason why the Kamuys were fighting relentlessly, Masatsugu felt troubled.

Tachibana Masatsugu was a student who knew nothing about Legions. He could not understand why he knew such things with certainty.

Meanwhile, another unfavorable element appeared on the battlefield.

"The dragon disappeared...?"

Masatsugu doubted his eyes. The dragonoid image of Seiryuu the guardian deity had vanished without warning from the air over the tutelary fort it had occupied until now.

The soldiers in the nation-protecting keep's hall also clamored among themselves, unable to hide their loss of composure.

One officer ran over to a corner of the hall, to where Sakuya's image had been sitting on the rocking chair.

"Sakuya-sama? What happened to you, Sakuya-sama!?"

The shrine maiden's image had disappeared, vanishing from sight the same moment as Seiryuu.

Thereafter, people began to talk all at once. Someone suggested to find a noetic master while others wanted to know what actually happend to the dragon. Chevalier Kamamoto's condition was also a focus of discussion. The scene was filled with angry shouts and orders.

Desperation to break out of the predicament had infected every officer and the soldiers under them. However, without the crucial Chevalier, it was anyone's guess how much their efforts could achieve&mdash;

"...Masatsugu-''sama'' and Hatsune, come this way."

The princess suddenly called Masatsugu and Hatsune.

Shiori walked briskly out of the hall in the nation-protecting keep and Hatsune followed decisively. Masatsugu did the same.

To be honest, this was not leadership one would expect from a sheltered princess.

Ever since the siren, Shiori had issued various precise instructions. Her obedient docility was purely a facade meant to obfuscate the world.

As soon as they left the keep, a small animal appeared on Shiori's shoulder.

It was a white fox roughly the size of a hamster, namely, the small retainer beast called the pipe fox. The spirit named Sakuya had used the same kind of animal.

Masatsugu said, "A retainer beast... Today is my first time seeing one for real."

"It is something that I asked Hatsune's father to procure for me. Keeping one around is extremely useful."

The small white animal on Shiori's shoulder exhaled through its nostrils.

Lord Tenryuu had bestowed many retainer beasts upon Imperial Japan and the pipe fox was one type. Using inborn noetic powers, they were able to serve mankind by enacting small miracles.

Like firearms, retainer beasts were only allowed to be used by military and police agencies in principle.

There were rumors of illegal retainer beasts in civilian society...

Shiori said to the mysterious little animal, "The genie of this tutelary fort... is called Sakuya, isn't she? I need to speak to her, so please locate her. You should be able to find her at the underground water shrine."

The pipe fox squealed and disappeared just like that.

It swiftly obeyed orders, leaving as suddenly as it had arrived.

"Princess, couldn't you have summoned her from where we were just now?"

"Not in front of others. I need to speak to her confidentially," replied Shiori instantly to Hatsune's question.

"That genie&mdash;seemed a bit odd."

There was a sense of certainty in the princess' tone of voice.

"A so-called genie is the will of an ifrit, something akin to an avatar. I believe that she and Seiryuu were unable to sustain their manifestations due to spiritual instabilities."

"How are you so sure?" Masatsugu could not help but interject. He was very curious about Shiori's tone of certainty.

On behalf of her master, Hatsune the lady-in-waiting puffed out her chest proudly and said, "Remember this well, Onii-sama, our princess is not only smart but also blessed with noetic aptitude. She is literally the epitome of brains and beauty, an exemplar of the Yamato Nadeshiko ideal!"

Noetic aptitude referred to the ability to sense and transmit noetic waves.

The title of noetic master was bestowed upon those who worked hard to obtain state certification. Compared to ordinary humans, these people were more able to commune with spirits and retainer beasts, which likewise specialized in noetic control.

Hatsune looked very smug, but Shiori said indifferently, "Like my hair, this sort of ability simply comes from my grandfather's bloodline. Many princesses inheriting a sacred beast's blood have aptitude for the mystical, just that my disposition is stronger."

"Amazing."

Masatsugu's ordinary praise prompted Shiori to shrug and say, "Is that so? The current Empress has rather thin dragon blood... Which is why her closest supporters have always regarded me with hostility. These people believe it is a great affront for me to bear such close resemblance to my grandfather despite belonging to a junior branch. Strictly speaking, the disadvantages are more numerous."

The princess' brilliant platinum blonde hair originated from Lord Tenryuu's bloodline.

However, the current Empress, Her Majesty Teruhime, had black hair, the same as a typical Japanese. Masatsugu now understood the reason.

Shiori continued, "Please keep this a secret for I have only told those who are close to me."

"As you command."

"Apart from noetic matters, I have also kept many other secrets. This includes my actual personality as well as the fact that I am more shrewd than most people imagine me to be."

"...Shrewd, is it?"

"Indeed. On matters of the mind, I seldom lose to anyone."

The princess' matter-of-fact expression made it sound like being shrewd was a virtue. The highly impolite word "shrew" came to Masatsugu's mind.

At that moment, a bell sound was heard.

The pipe fox that had been on Shiori's shoulder earlier appeared out of thin air. The small retainer beast had returned.

"How did it go?"

The pipe fox shook its little head.

Its lady master sighed and said in vexation, "The spirit named Sakuya... I cannot believe she closed off her heart and refused to listen to anyone. In human terms, she seems to be a very shy child. If she were to swear to secrecy, I would be willing to help her..."

Mid-sentence, the princess could no longer be heard.

A sudden crash overwhelmed her voice. Something hard and heavy collapsed, accompanied by an explosion. This was what they had heard.

The Suruga tutelary fort's star-shaped fortification walls&mdash;It had been breached at one point.

...Needless to say, the enemy Crusades were responsible.

Two Crusades kept firing their bayonet rifles from the air. Breaking past the Kamuys tasked with Old Man Kamamoto's dying wish, they charged into the tutelary fort's immediate area.

After that, the two Crusades landed inside the tutelary fort.

The heavy impact shook the ground. One of the Crusades landed on the roof of a one-story steel-frame building.

The British Legion stood over eight meters tall.

Its estimated weight of several hundred tons easily crushed the structure of steel-reinforced concrete.

Anyone inside would have died for sure. Next, the two Crusades began to spray gunfire.

The beams shot out of the muzzles in a torrent, blasting the interior of the tutelary fort.

The Crusades were not aiming in particular. Firing at a rate of ten shots per second, there was no need to aim.

The various structures inside the tutelary fort&mdash;buildings, hangars, barracks, etc were all built from steel-reinforced concrete, yet they were all pierced by the beams like styrofoam props. Blown away. Crushed. Burned. Melted. Explosions erupted.

The destructive heat beams melted and sliced through steel metal and concrete.

The was the power of the bayonet rifle.

Hatsune cried out in panic, "Princess! We have to hurry and find shelter!"

"...No, it would be safer to stay still."

Shiori looked at a certain building. It was the nation-protecting keep they had just exited.

"This tower is the core of the tutelary fort. Assuming it has concealed information inside and underground, the ifrit's principal image or a water shrine must be present. The enemy side needs to take over these facilities for their own use... Hence the Crusades will definitely not attack our position."

Shiori was right.

The two Crusades did not stop shooting but their guns were never aimed in the trio's direction at the nation-protecting keep.

Hatsune smiled and Shiori exhaled in relief. Despite speaking out to assure everyone of their safety, she could not help but feel nervous inside.

Next, the princess looked up sternly.

"Let us take this opportunity to call for reinforcements."

Shiori's entire body glowed white. It was the light of noetic power.

Ordinary people were essentially unable to sense noetic waves, but powerful noetic waves would release light, producing radiance that anyone could see&mdash;

Witnessing this rumored phenomenon, Masatsugu was deeply impressed.

"O braves who have exhausted your strength, may your courage be crowned by glory. Praise be to your courage."

The imperial princess spoke solemnly amid the white light of noesis.

Curious, Hatsune asked the Shiori, "Princess, what are you doing?"

"These Kamuys continue to fight relentlessly in honor of Kamamoto-sama's dying wish&mdash;I am gathering them to defend the tutelary fort that is about to fall to the enemy. However, I have no idea how many Kamuys will rush over here..." murmured Shiori with worry.

Indeed, the Kamuys were currently fighting valiantly against the Crusades outside the tutelary fort as well. It was anyone's guess how many Kamuys were still intact and whether they had the luxury of diverting some of their numbers back to the tutelary fort.

Surprisingly, reinforcements arrived immediately.

Firing their bayonet rifles, two Kamuys entered the premises from the tutelary fort's side gate.

"The ones guarding the gate!"

Masatsugu realized that they were the two Kamuys that had been stationed at the side gate for the purpose of prestige. Obeying their late commander's dying wish, they too had yet to disappear from the battlefield.