Editing Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 5 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 4===

Busy times flew by within the blink of an eye.

The festival executive committee was not only in charge of directing their homerooms but also mobilizing manpower to help the school festival's overall preparations. The continuous flow of jobs gave me little time to catch my breath.

Thus, the school festival's first day came at last, my time of trial and tribulation.

"Fu, fufu... N-Nii-san... You are so adorable."

Seeing me look like a completely different person, Mitsuki clutched her sides with laughter. It was rare to see Mitsuki laugh so unreservedly. I seemed to have stimulated endless laughter in her.

"—Sorry, but even if you call me adorable, I don't feel happy at all."

Dressed in a female uniform with a wig, I replied with a scowl.

The skirt was too breezy, making me feel very uneasy. To think that girls could tolerate wearing such insecure outfits, I was thoroughly impressed from the bottom of my heart.

"B-But... it looks way better than I would have expected. If it is like this, the various visitors probably will not realize you are a boy, Nii-san."

Mitsuki examined me from head to foot again then promised me "No problem."

Having mustered my resolve, I had put on the female uniform. To check the look, I visited Mitsuki at her room. It seemed like there was nothing amiss.
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Even so, I still did not feel entirely reassured, but with this, I could take part in the school festival at least.

"Fufu, I will have to call you Nee-san today."

"I beg you, please don't call me that."

Mitsuki said with delight but I objected seriously.

"But I believe it would not work unless I change the way I address you..."

"Normally, you can just call people by name. There's nothing unnatural about 'Yuu' as a girl's name."

"Eh—c-call you by name?"

Hearing my suggestion, Mitsuki went red in a fluster.

"This suggestion should work, right?"

"True, I suppose... But no way! I cannot do it!"

Mitsuki shook her head as hard as she could and refused.

"W-Why?"

"In any case, I still cannot do it now! Y-You are Nee-san for today! It is decided!"

Having declared that, Mitsuki expelled me from her room. Slam, the door closed.

"If you can't do it now... When else?"

Left in the hallway, I cocked my head in puzzlement, dressed in a female uniform.

Was it because of my missing memories that I could not understand Mitsuki's thoughts—or was I simply dense? Right now, I could not tell.



"Wow! Mononobe turned into a girl!"

"Yuu is wearing the same clothes as everyone!"

Mitsuki and I arrived at school earlier than usual. What awaited me were reactions I was somewhat prepared for already.

Iris and Tia rushed over and examined my appearance closely.

"Yeah, it's very cute. For a moment, I didn't recognize Mononobe-kun."

"Mm."

Ariella and Ren looked at me with impressed eyes.

"Mononobe-kun, excellent. It makes me... want to marry you a bit."

Firill stared at me with inexplicable ecstasy.

"The appearance is acceptable. But so-called femininity is something that is expressed through subtle behavior. You would do best to pay attention to your walking posture and various gestures. Also, there is—"

Lisa approached while observing my female outfit then placed her hand on my chest.

"Given this rare chance, how about some breast pads? Someone small and petite like Mitsuki-chan could get away with a more modest chest without looking unnatural... But statuesque as you are, I believe you need to show more femininity."

However, when Lisa offered this advice, Mitsuki's face instantly froze.

Comparing her petite chest with Lisa's voluptuous bosom, Mitsuki smiled unnaturally.

"L-Lisa-san, there is no need to go to such lengths. Nii-san—no, Nee-san—is already very feminine. The size of one's chest does not affect a woman's charm."

"But having some is better than none—"

Mitsuki's face twitched in spasms.

"NOT. NEEDED!"

Mitsuki glared at Lisa and asserted.

"F-Fine..."

Intimidated by her forcefulness, even Lisa backed down.

"Good grief—Now I shall confirm today's plans. Please sit wherever you wish, everyone."

Instructing everyone, Mitsuki stood up at the lectern.

The reason why she asked us to sit wherever we wanted was because our seats were no longer in the classroom.

The day before, we had moved all the desks and chairs out of the classroom, replacing them with three tables for customers to use. The interior was decorated into a "Japanese-like style" and felt completely different from the usual classroom atmosphere.

The ornamental Hinamatsuri dolls brought by Mitsuki were surrounded by a large number of Japanese fortune cats, a rather bizarre sight. As a side note, the fortune cats were brought by Ren who seemed to have a hobby of collecting them.

"The ones in charge of running the Japanese teahouse on the first day will be Iris-san, Ariella-san, Ren-san and Firill-san. The four of you, please change into your uniforms and prepare breakfast for all of us as warmup practice and for taste testing."

"Yes, I'll do my best!"

Iris answered Mitsuki energetically.

"The school festival starts at 9am. The initial shift will have Iris-san and Firill-san in charge of serving customers while Ariella-san and Ren-san will be responsible for the kitchen. However, when there are many customers, please leave only one person outside and have three of you cooking. If things are still tight, the remaining members will join in to assist."

Mitsuki explained fluently. She looked no different from when she was commanding anti-dragon battles. Perhaps due to that, everyone's face naturally tensed up.

"In the afternoon, please allow each person to take half an hour break each depending on customer volume. During that time, please have one person in charge of the outside and two in the kitchen. Then let us begin!"

Following Mitsuki's orders, Iris, Firill, Ariella and Ren, on duty today, exited the classroom.

This was because the cooking and changing areas were located in the unused classroom next door.

Left in the classroom were me, Mitsuki, Lisa and Tia, the four of us.

We sat down around a round table and waited for the food to be done.

"—Nee-san, let us head to the pier to pick up Father and Mother after breakfast."

Mitsuki examined the table's cleanliness with her finger while speaking. While feeling this title of "Nee-san" nagging at my heart, I observed Mitsuki's face.

Mitsuki looked like she believed I would matter-of-factly go with her. But if possible, I did not want to meet our parents.

"Sorry, but can I ask you to pick them up on your own? Look... at the way I'm dressed."

"Not an issue. I already informed them of the crossdressing."

"No, it's embarrassing even if they know. I'll go say hi to them afterwards, so give me some time for mental preparation."

I wanted to minimize contact with the parents as much as possible, but Mitsuki looked displeased.

"Say hi... Why do you sound so detached? Nii-san, you never called home even once, did you? Father and Mother are extremely worried about you. Please consider their feelings!"

Crap, Mitsuki was angry for real.

Indeed, my attitude would seem heartless and ungrateful to others.

But right now, I was not the "Mononobe Yuu" whom they knew.

"Mitsuki-san, my apologies, but he promised me already."

While I was hesitating how to answer, Lisa interjected.

"Huh?"

Mitsuki looked at Lisa in surprise. I was also wondering "Did I promise something like that?" and looked at her doubtfully.

"In our discussions, we decided to immediately scout the other homerooms as soon as the school festival starts. Because there are other homerooms opening cafes like us, which could be used for reference. Am I right?"

Lisa sought my agreement while winking at me. I realized she was secretly helping me.

"Y-Yeah, that's right. I promised Lisa already."

I frantically agreed and Lisa turned to face Mitsuki again.

"—And that is the case. Since this is part of the executive committee's job, I asked him to accompany me."

"Tia wants to go along!"

Then Tia raised her hand.

"Sure, no problem, Tia-san, you will come with us to check out the school festival."

Seeing things gradually decided, Mitsuki slumped her shoulders in resignation.

"No helping it... I understand. But conversely, after you finish scouting, you must go meet Father and Mother."

Mitsuki glared at me with some linger displeasure.

"Got it—I promise you."

After all, I still had to meet them once no matter what. Mitsuki would never allow anything else. Also, running from them the entire day would be unnatural.

"You must, okay?"

Perhaps my attitude did not inspire trust in her, Mitsuki kept reminding me repeatedly.

Thus, after some time, the classroom door opened. Dressed in kimonos, Iris and the others entered. They were coming over with trays carrying breakfast. Then they placed the food on the table.

"Mononobe, thanks for waiting! It'll definitely be tasty today for sure!"

Saying that, Iris placed the miso soup in front of me.

"Yeah, it seems very tasty. Also... Your outfit is very well-made. As expected of something you made yourself, Iris, it's very much in your style."

Smelling the miso soup's aroma, filled with anticipation, I admired Iris' kimono look.

She was wearing a kimono patterned with many small white flowers. Iris' airs matched the kimono's design very well, producing a sense of attractiveness different from usual.

"Oh, you even put on that hair accessory."

Seeing the butterfly hairpin I had given to her as a gift, I felt quite happy.

"Ehehe... I decided to put it away carefully for most of the time to avoid getting it dirty, and only wear it on special days."

Iris smiled shyly then served miso soup to the others.

Next came Firill with plates of tamagoyaki.

"This tamagoyaki is the best I've made to date. Mononobe-kun, you must savor it carefully."

Firill divided up the beautifully shaped tamagoyaki between everyone. Just as I could see, there was no charring on the inside.

"Got it. Also, Firill, your kimono looks great."

Firill's kimono had an abstract snowflake-like pattern which matched well with the kimono's background of light blue which resembled the winter sky.

"...That's it for your comment?"

However, Firill sounded slightly dissatisfied. While serving the others, she deliberately pushed her bosom against me.

"H-Hey?"

The soft sensation on my shoulder, transmitted through the kimono, was making me flustered. However, Firill did not leave me and whispered in my ear.

"Mononobe-kun, did you notice anything different?"

"Notice what... D-Don't tell me... you're not wearing any?"

The softness from her bosom felt especially vivid. I asked hoarsely.

"Yes, today—I'm not wearing a bra."

Firill smiled mischievously then separated from me, puffing out her magnificent chest.

"But I did use a supporter. Wearing a bra would ruin a kimono's beautiful curves. If possible... I wish you could comment on this sort of invisible effort."

"N-Nothing less expected of you..."

Overwhelmed by her in many different senses, I expressed my amazement. Firill finally showed a contented look and left.

"Come, next is plain rice and grilled fish."

"Mm!"

Then Ariella and Ren brought the remaining food and breakfast had arrived completely.

Ariella was wearing a kimono with subdued colors and a pattern of bamboo grass. Ren's was a red kimono with floral patterns.

"You two look good in your kimonos too, but you seem a bit exhausted."

Looking at Ariella and Ren's faces up close, I noticed the fatigue on their faces.

"Because a few places in Ren's kimono was sewn wrong, I re-did the sewing yesterday, working until late night, so I'm a bit tired today."

Ariella smiled wryly and yawned slightly.

"Mm..."

Ren bowed her head apologetically.

She was what one would call a prodigy, giving an impression that she could finish anything perfectly and effortlessly but there were apparently things she was not good at.

"Then all the food has arrived. Let us hurry and try it out."

After confirming everyone was seated, Mitsuki issued orders.

"Thanks for the food."

"—Thanks for the food."

Everyone put clapped their hands together and began to eat.

The month-long training had paid off. The food prepared by Iris and the others was very delicious.



"Every step I take, I instantly feel conscious I'm wearing a skirt..."

After breakfast, I left the classroom with Lisa and Tia. With every step, I would look down at my swaying skirt. During the walk from the dorm to school, I had gone through quite an embarrassing experience, hence my resistance against crossdressing had already numbed somewhat. But the sense of dissonance generated by the clothing itself was impossible to erase no matter what.

"Yuu dislikes skirts? Tia loves them because they're cool and breezy."

Tia walked while holding hands with me and Lisa, asking me incredulously.

"Yeah, it's definitely cool and breezy... But it also feels like not wearing anything, it makes me uncomfortable."

After I gave this answer to Tia, it was Lisa's turn to speak:

"By the way, how did you take care of underwear? Don't tell me you're wearing Mitsuki-san's..."

"Of course not! I'm just wearing normal boxers!"

I frantically denied Lisa's suspicions.

"Hoo, very well. I am relieved to know that the person I will be introducing to my parents tomorrow is not that type of pervert."

Lisa chuckled and said.

"You..."

I glared at Lisa coldly.

"Lisa's papa and mama will come tomorrow?"

Tia asked Lisa.

"Yes, that is the plan."

"But Lisa will be working with us tomorrow. Even if your papa and mama come to school, you won't be able to take them around?"

Tia asked in worry.

Lisa made a troubled expression then answered ambiguously:

"That works better for me, because I will be free from unnecessary questioning..."

We still had not said anything about our pretending to be a couple.  We intended to explain tomorrow morning and ask everyone to help.

"Oh... How strange. Neither Lisa nor Yuu wants to see their papa and mama, but if Tia was in your shoes... Tia will feel very happy."

Tia commented with a baffled look on her face.

"Ah..."

I recalled that Tia's parents were deceased and felt sorry for her.

It had probably puzzled Tia the whole time that I did not go to pick up my parents.

Even if I told her the truth, standing from Tia's perspective, she would probably think that my troubles were luxuries.

Lisa looked at me.

Since we had worked together for a month and kept practicing being a couple, I could tell from her gaze that she was asking me "What to do?"

However, I could not come up with a correct answer to tell Tia.

Whether apologizing or explaining, both would only cause Tia to disagree even more. Hence—

"Tia, let's go!"

Pulling Tia's hand, I walked quickly ahead.

"Y-Yuu?"

"Wait, what is with you suddenly?"

Holding hands with Tia, Lisa was dragged along and asked, feeling troubled.

"The visitors will be arriving soon and there will be flood of people. Before that, we should visit other homerooms' shops as much as possible. Let's have fun with us for the whole day, Tia."

"Oh... Okay!"

Tia nodded in agreement and smiled.

This way of doing things might be a bit stiff, but right now, the only way I could think off to make Tia happy was for her to devote herself to enjoying the school festival.

"It is fine that you want to enjoy the school festival, but please do not forget to gather information properly."

Lisa sighed and reminded. However, the corners of her mouth were smiling.

In this manner, we raced to the other homerooms.

Along the way, we passed by Shinomiya-sensei who warned us not to run in the hallways—



Midgard's Ds were all assigned to respective homerooms.

Apart from the most prominent Brynhildr Class where I belonged, there were Gerhilde Class, Helmwige Class, Schwertleite Class, Ortlinde Class, Siegrune Class, Waltraute Class and Rossweisse Class, a total of nine homerooms.

These homerooms seemed to be named after Norse valkyries. Although there was the exception of me, but Ds were essentially young maidens, hence naming them after valkyries carried the meaning of "girls who fight dragons."

Although there were extreme geniuses like Ren or people with extenuating circumstances like Tia, who were assigned as exceptions, girls were essentially assigned to homerooms according to age group.

In most cases, the ability to generate and use dark matter seemed to awaken roughly the same time as when secondary sex characteristics appeared. Many of the Ds' homerooms had students similar to Lisa and my age. Conversely, young Ds were very few in number.

Rossweisse Class was where all these young Ds were gathered.

Thinking it would be better to visit a place with children the same age as Tia first, I picked Rossweisse Class first, but—

"Thank you for coming!"

"Please come again!"

—While the girls in monster costumes saw us off, I walked unsteadily out of their classroom.

"S-So exhausting..."

I exhaled deeply and remarked. Lisa agreed and nodded with a feeble look.

"I really can't keep up with the energy of young girls..."

The first classroom had already consumed a lot of our energy.

They were doing a haunted house.

But the scariness was zero. It would not be a stretch to say that from start to end, it was like playing with exceptionally hyper girls in costume.

"So fun!"

But Tia looked satisfied, grinning from ear to ear. As expected of someone from the same age group, she seemed to be able to keep up with their pace. When the haunted house was suggested in our discussion last time, she was still quite scared, but this kind of not scary haunted house was evidently fine.

"Okay... Next one."

Thinking it was fine as long as Tia was having as much fun as possible, we headed to Gerhilde Class next.

Gerhilde Class seemed to be doing a performance. A girl dressed in medieval clothing was standing at the entrance to pull in customers.

"Oh, Tia-chan!"

The girl showed joy on her face as soon as she saw us.

"It's been so long, Mayumi!"

"You know her?"

I asked Tia and she nodded.

"When dropping the bomb on Basilisk, we worked hard together!"

Speaking of which, back then, Tia had joined the Dragon Subjugation Squad to support Mistilteinn. This girl was probably part of that group. Reminded by Tia, I felt like I had seen her before.

"Eh... Is this person beside Tia-chan actually Yuu-sama!?"

Mayumi noticed me despite my crossdressing disguise and exclaimed in surprise. In that instant, the other girls suddenly poked their heads out from the classroom together.

"Wow, it really is Yuu-sama! Lisa-sama is here too!"

"Even in a female uniform, he still looks so gallant!"

"Ah, idiot! The school gave orders that Yuu-sama's crossdressing has to be kept secret!"

"People from outside aren't here yet, so it's fine. Okay, Mayumi! Hurry and lead the way for them!"

The girls screamed and cheered, watching us with excited eyes. "Yuu-sama" bothered me a lot and I felt extremely uncomfortable.

"Please come this way, everyone! I will lead you to the VIP seats!"

Urged by her classmates, Mayumi led us to our seats.

A small stage was set up in their classroom.

"Ours is a drama performance! Please enjoy 'The Adventures of Yuu the Hero'!"

"—Huh?"

Hearing the title of the play, I had a bad feeling but before I could speak, the classroom went dark and a light shone on the stage.

The story then started, it was about a hero named Yuu who defeated evil dragons one after another.

The protagonist was totally based on me. While watching the play, I kept yelling in my mind "can I just find a hole to bury myself?"

"It was super fun to watch!"

After the play ended and we walked out of Gerhilde Class, Tia commented, her excitement still not yet faded.

"Fufu, Yuu the Hero, what a grand performance."

Lisa laughed while teasing me. During the play, Lisa had been laughing the whole time, keeping her voice down. Due to laughing to much, there were even tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Don't call me with that..."

Were they trying to shame me to death with praise? Thinking that, I sighed. Back when putting on the female uniform this morning, I was thinking there would not be anything more embarrassing than that, but who knew that it would get dethroned so quickly...

The first two classrooms had sapped my mental strength almost to the limit. But even so, I still went with Tia and Lisa to visit other classrooms.

While we were touring around, outside visitors gradually increased in number. They were probably relatives of Ds and other involved parties invited from outside.

"—Let's make a visit to our classroom first, because I'd like to report the results of our reconnaissance. Also... Your parents are probably waiting for you."

After lunch at Ortlinde Class' maid cafe, Lisa suggested to me.

By this point, we had checked out five homerooms—more than half. It was definitely time to make a trip back.

"Tia wants to see Yuu's papa and mama too!"

"—Got it, let's go."

I prepared myself and nodded. I just had to say hi then go visit other homerooms with Tia and Lisa before my condition got exposed.

While thinking of ways to listen without speaking as much as possible, I walked back to Brynhildr Class.

What I had to pay the most attention to was not recognizing the wrong people. After all, I currently could not even recall my parents' faces.

However, I stopped before reaching my homeroom.

Not because of fear but surprise.

Seeing him, who was not supposed to appear here, my body froze on reflex.

My excitement from the school festival atmosphere was frozen solid in an instant.

Leaning against the wall, he made eye contact with me. A cold smile instantly surfaced on the corners of his lips.

"2nd Lieutenant Mononobe, the way you're dressed is truly a joy to behold."

Checking out my crossdressing look, the man in the NIFL military uniform—Major Loki Jotunheim—spoke.
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"Major Loki... Why are you here—"

"This isn't anything surprising. Since Midgard is holding such an event, it is normal for NIFL to send an observing delegation and I'm one of them."

This man was my direct superior back in NIFL. He answered with a grin on his face.

Although Midgard and NIFL's relationship was not particularly good, even so, I understood that Midgard could not disregard NIFL in this kind of promotional activity, still—

"Given your position, Major Loki, you wouldn't take on this kind of 'overt' mission, would you? What is your goal?"

One could call him someone who lived in NIFL's dark side who was almost never active in an aboveboard role like this. Conversely, if he was taking action, then there must be corresponding reasons.

"Because I wanted to talk to you directly. Can I have a moment of your time?"

Hearing him say he was here to see me, I felt some kind of premonition rocking my heart, telling me that things were definitely unusual.

"I understand. Lisa, Tia, please head back to the classroom first."

I nodded to Major Loki and urged the two of them, who had been unable to get a word in, to leave.

"You want us to leave first...? Who is that man? If you are going somewhere else, I shall come along."

"Tia wants to go with Yuu too!"

I felt anxious and uneasy to see that Lisa and Tia wanting to come along, so I shook my head and refused them clearly.

"—No. Do not come no matter what."

I could not allow them to get involved with Major Loki—Deciding that in my mind, I told them that.

Taken aback in surprise by my forceful rejection, they could not speak for a moment.

"Major Loki, let's go somewhere else."

Taking that chance to lead Major Loki away, I left quickly.

This was to get Major Loki away from them as quickly as possible—