Editing Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 3 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 5===

Two days after I was examined, the participants in the operation were officially announced.

A total of twenty, of which eight were students from Brynhildr Class. Luckily, my name was included.

Considering the scale of the operation, this headcount was smaller than I had imagined. This was probably the result of trying to minimize risk to prevent the worst-case scenario.

On the day it was announced, we were briefed officially and informed of the planned itinerary.

To lure Basilisk, Brynhildr Class was apparently heading first to the uninhabited island.

Then the next day, after rushed preparations, we were already on the ship.

"Mononobe, look, Midgard became so small!"

Pointing at the island in the distance, Iris spoke excitedly.

"...Viewing that island from outside, the feeling is quite strange."

I could not help but feel poignantly how small our world was as Ds.

The sky and the sea stretched limitlessly. The tiny island floating alone between the sky and the sea was Midgard where we had been staying just earlier.

The students of Brynhildr Class boarded the ship today and set sail for the uninhabited island where Basilisk was to be lured. This ship was a transport ship that Midgard used to move supplies and did not have any weaponry.

A request to NIFL could probably get them to lend us a much faster battleship, but that would give them an excuse to interfere in our operation. As the commander of this operation, Shinomiya-sensei seemed quite wary of NIFL's interference.

Due to NIFL sending a team to infiltrate Midgard during Leviathan's invasion, a vast gulf had apparently arisen between the two sides. Although I felt uneasy about how the two sides could not cooperate, at least it was better than them trying to get in each other's way.

—I hoped this would not develop into a conflict between humans.

While staring out blankly towards Midgard as it gradually disappeared over the horizon, I thought to myself. Compared to dragons, I was more adept at fighting humans, but I did not like to do that.

"Oh, Mononobe! Isn't that a dolphin?"

Rocking my shoulder, Iris pointed diagonally behind the ship. There was a school of dolphins swimming as though they were chasing the ship. Slicing through the water surface with their dorsal fins, they sometimes jumped skillfully using their speed, tracing out beautiful curves.

But compared to dolphins, the side view of Iris' elated face attracted my eyes more.

"...Is there something stuck to my face?"

Noticing my gaze, Iris cocked her head and asked in puzzlement.

"Oh, no—I was just thinking you seem quite happy."

"Yes, I'm very happy! It feels like all of us are going on a trip together, I'm so excited!"

Iris replied, smiling happily as though she believed that from the bottom of her heart.

But... I knew, I had heard Iris say so herself in the past.

Iris had apparently encountered a dragon disaster while on a ship journey with her family. Due to Leviathan passing by, the passenger ship was sunk, killing Iris' family.

"...You aren't forcing yourself, are you?"

Because of that, I was quite concerned and asked her.

"Forcing? Oh—Mononobe, don't tell me you're worried about me because we're traveling on a ship?"

"Well... I am, a bit."

I scratched my cheek and nodded to admit it but Iris beamed happily.

"Thank you, Mononobe. But it doesn't bother me at all, because in the end, a lot of happy things happened on the family trip... Those are very precious memories to me... That's why, even though the ending is so sad, it didn't make me hate ship journeys."

I was stunned to hear her talking so matter-of-factly.

Normally speaking, it would not be surprising to develop mental trauma towards ship travel because of this, but Iris called it her precious memories very calmly.

"You're always full of surprises, Iris."

I smiled wryly and said to her. Iris had a careless personality, often made mistakes and used to lament how weak she was, but I considered her true character to have far more inner strength than me.

"Hmmhmm, because I'm not a girl who can be judged by common sense."

Iris proudly puffed out her chest.

"Yeah, like making everything explode no matter what you're transmuting. That's really far too mysterious."

"W-What's wrong with that!? Even if it's still a mystery, at least we've found a way to make use of it, that's why I'm able to join the Dragon Subjugation Squad like this!"

"Yeah, but—One day eventually, I will unravel that mystery, because I'd like to know you better, Iris."

Only after saying this without thinking did I realize in alarm that it almost sounded like I was courting her.

Despite showing a surprised look initially, Iris' face gradually grew red.

"U-Umm, m-me too..."

As though trying to muster courage, Iris stared into my eyes.

Her cherry lips kept trembling while she continued in a hoarse voice:

"...If it's you, Mononobe, umm... I want you to know me better too."

Towards the end, her voice was as quiet as a whisper.

"What—"

This unexpected development halted my thoughts. I did not know how to continue.

Seeing my entire body freeze Iris tilted her head somewhat uneasily.

"Mononobe...? Don't tell me you didn't hear... me?"

"N-No, I heard you..."

Hearing me answer, Iris breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then, uh... Can I tell you now?"

Iris asked me softly in a stammer.

"T-Tell me what...?"

"Basically... Many things. As long as it's something you want to know, Mononobe, anything at all."

Very shyly, Iris answered while fidgeting.

"By saying it could be anything at all, you're actually making it harder for me..."

I scratched my head and replied. Iris looked up at me and asked hesitantly:

"If you can't think of something on the spot, then... Wanna visit my cabin? This isn't a place to talk secrets anyway..."

Making such a suggestion with blushing cheeks, Iris looked incredibly attractive, forcing me to gulp.

"Well, Iris, if you're okay with it—"

Dizzy from the mood, I was almost about to agree when I heard rapid footsteps approaching. I hastily stopped talking.

"Yuu! Tia took a tour of the deck and came back!"

I took a closer look to see Tia running here, out of breath. She had been very excited ever since she boarded the transport ship, running all over the place the whole time.

Although she should have been transported by ship when she first came to Midgard, she most likely did not have the freedom to tour around at the time.

"Yuu, let's explore the inside of the ship next?"

"Hold on, Tia. Iris and I are currently—"

With Tia pulling my right hand, I asked Iris "What now?" with a gaze.

"Oh, it's okay, go explore with Tia. The thing with me... Umm, it doesn't have to be right now."

Iris shyly saw me and Tia off. What she meant by that was asking me to come find her at her cabin later. Since inappropriate interaction between the genders was prohibited, I was definitely not going to do anything bad, but even so, I still felt my heart rate rising.

"Yuu, let's go this way to have a look!"

Tia held my right hand tightly and walked rapidly. The deck of the transport ship was very spacious. Several cranes were installed for moving shipping containers.

There was a female member of the crew operating the cranes nearby. Most likely just like the staff at Midgard, the crew of this ship were also all female.

Entering the ship and advancing along the corridor, we came to a spacious lounge. This seemed to be a leisure space for the crew. There were vending machines along the wall along with a self-serve cafeteria, although it was currently closed.

In a corner of the lounge, I saw classmates sprawled on a table.

They were Firill and Ren.

Firill had a paperback in one hand while her entire body was limp. On the other hand, Ren had a hand on her laptop while her body kept trembling.

"W-What's with you two!?"

Surprised, Tia ran towards them.

Firill's body shook then she turned her pallid face towards us.

"...I feel terrible."

Then she described her condition while in suffering.

"...Mm."

Ren also looked up unsteadily, nodding once to concur, then sprawled on the table again.

"Yuu, oh no! They're both sick!"

Tia frantically tugged my sleeve, so I worriedly inquired of them.

"Hey, what the heck's going on? You two were fine earlier when you boarded the ship, weren't you?"

Firill and Ren turned their pale faces towards me.

"I was reading a book when the world started spinning before my eyes..."

"Mm..."

Firill pointed at the paperback in her hand while Ren pointed at her laptop. With that, I figured out the situation. To put Tia at ease, I placed my hand on her head.

"Don't worry, Tia. They're just seasick."

"Seasick?"

"Yeah, because it's different on a ship. Unlike land, it's always in a rocking state. Some people feel unwell because of that."

After explaining to Tia, I looked at Firill and Ren in exasperation.

"—Say, this is also because you two started reading a book and using the computer despite being unused to ships, you know?"

It was easy to get seasick when doing those things to begin with. That was really obvious, so they were reaping what they sowed.

"But... I really want to read, the culprit will be exposed in just a bit..."

Firill seemed to be reading a mystery novel. Despite her pallid demeanor, she still insisted on reading further.

"Doing that will only make the seasick symptoms worse. Sheesh... I'm confiscating this book for now."

Exasperated, I could only take away the book from Firill's hand.

"Ah!? G-Give it back..."

"I'll return it as soon as your seasick symptoms get better. At this rate, you won't even be able to eat your meals. You'll get sick for real."

"Ooh... I never knew you're this kind of person..."

She glared resentfully at me. Although I felt guilty to some extent, I must not give the book back to Firill in her current state.

Seeing this, Ren hid her laptop underneath her body while watching me with wary eyes.

"Mm!"

Ren waved her hand to shoo me away, but like Firill, her face was pale.

"No, I'm not planning to forcibly confiscate your computer as well, Ren. As long as you rest in your cabin and don't strain to use the computer, I won't do anything."

"...Mm."

Hearing me say that, Ren seemed reassured, nodding frequently.

"Really? You're a good kid, Ren. Are you able to return to your cabin on your own?"

I breathed a sigh of relief and petted Ren's head.

"Mm..."

Despite pouting with displeasure, Ren nodded lightly in acknowledgment.

"Then you two should rest properly."

"Once you get well, play with Tia again!"

Tia and I said goodbye to Firill and Ren then continued our exploration of the ship's interior.

We randomly turned a corner then advanced deeper, but encountered a flight of stairs.

Going down a level would take us to a series of cabins where we were staying. I had gone down to have a look once when moving luggage onto the ship. Perhaps designed with the expectation that VIPs might travel on it, even though it was not a passenger ship, the cabins assigned to us were still quite comfortable. The girls' cabins were near the prow side, while mine was in a corner towards the aft. Despite being on the same level, they were quite far apart.

One more level down should be the storage and engine rooms.

As for going up, I had not tried it yet, but ascending the stairs would probably get us to the bridge.

"Which way do we go?"

Hearing me ask that, Tia thought for a while then pointed up.

"Up is better."

"Got it."

Although we might not be allowed into the bridge, I still accompanied Tia on her adventure, to go everywhere as long as it was open to us.

Tia and I followed the metal staircase that was painted white. Immediately, we heard faint sounds of voices coming from above. With every step we took, the voices grew louder.

Although the words could not be heard, judging from the tone, it seemed to be some kind of dispute, and they were familiar voices.

"...Lisa and Mitsuki's voices."

Tia pulled my hand and quickened her pace. Thinking something had happened, I ran up the stairs too.

After going up two levels, I could hear the voices clearly. Reading the sign located at the landing, this was a level used for a conference room and other purposes.

"—And that is why I still cannot forgive you even now!"

"It matters not to me that you cannot forgive me, because what I had done was unforgivable!"

Lisa and Mitsuki's voices were coming from around the corner. I could also see Ariella hiding in the corner, peering at the situation in the corridor.

Ariella showed a troubled expression immediately after discovering us.

"Oh, it's you guys? Uh, just as you can hear, Mitsuki and Lisa are occupied right now. You'd better come back later if you need to find them for something."

"Lisa and Mitsuki are fighting? You're not stopping them?"

Tia asked Ariella in a slightly accusatory tone.

"I'd like to stop them but it doesn't seem like a problem I can just butt in."

Ariella sighed and shrugged, looking very helpless.

Tia and I did not know what had happened between them, so we listened carefully to the arguing voices.

"—Mitsuki-san, are you insisting that you will shoulder everything alone, be it the crime of killing Miyako-san or the responsibility of atoning for that?"

"Of course that is what I believe. I have no wish to push my responsibilities on others!"

"Hmph, what pretty-sounding words. But no one will understand you and no one will follow you so long as you continue to monopolize that kind of resolve. Aren't there many things that you ought to confront bravely?"

"I-I am confronting bravely—"

"Do not say such words lightly when you clearly have not tried to obtain my forgiveness!"

"!"

Lisa's shout caused Mitsuki to swallow the remainder of what she was going to say.

I peered discreetly around the corner. Lisa had her arms crossed before her chest, standing with her feet apart. On the other hand, Mitsuki was in front of her, head lowered, shoulders shaking nonstop.

"Lisa... is very angry."

Similarly poking her head out, Tia under me remarked quietly.

Just as Tia described, Lisa was exuding anger that I had never seen before. Although I had incurred Lisa's wrath many times before, no occasion could compare to how angry Lisa was right now.

The dispute seemed to have started because of the subject of Shinomiya Miyako. Thus I can understand why Ariella could not interrupt. Because someone trying to intervene without knowing the details would only make matters worse.

I did not know much either.

Mitsuki had personally killed her dragonified best friend Shinomiya Miyako whereas Lisa still could not forgive this act. Lisa had also said before that she still could not approve even though she knew it was unavoidable.
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v03 069.jpg|thumb]]

"Mitsuki-san, could you say something?"

Lisa asked the silent Mitsuki.

"......!"

But Mitsuki turned around to leave as though fleeing, unable to say a single word in return.

Seeing Mitsuki coming towards us, we frantically leaned our backs against the wall. Luckily, Mitsuki walked past us to the other end of the corridor without noticing us. Noticing that she seemed to be crying, I wondered whether I should chase after her or not.

"The people over there, how much longer are you going to hide?"

But just as I was hesitating, I heard Lisa yelled in our direction. Although Mitsuki had not noticed us, Lisa had discovered us out of the corner of her eye.

"Sorry, I originally did not mean to eavesdrop..."

Ariella walked out apologetically. Tia and I followed.

"Sorry, it was because I heard voices."

"Because Tia heard angry voices, Tia was very worried..."

Seeing me and Tia apologize, Lisa sighed.

"Sigh, more eavesdroppers come out, one after another... Never mind, it's fine even if you overheard. Since we chose to converse in the corridor, I am in no position to blame you for eavesdropping.

Lisa spoke wearily then gazed in the direction where Mitsuki had fled.

"...However, if possible, I hope all of you will pretend you did not hear the earlier conversation. If you are worrying about Mitsuki-san, there is no need. Because once the evening meeting starts, she will appear as though nothing had happened, as usual like every other time..."

Hearing Lisa's bitter tone of voice, I asked her:

"As usual like every other time... Do you fight like this often?"

"Occasionally. The last time I argued with her was when Leviathan approached. We got into a dispute over interception matters and it developed into a fight like just now. The same goes for this time, it was originally just a discussion on future plans..."

I heard Lisa saying "why did it end up like this?" quietly followed by a deep sigh.

"That's—"

On reflex, I wanted to say "because you still refuse to forgive Mitsuki, Lisa" but stopped myself. Because even if I accused Lisa, it would only make things more complicated. I noticed that Mitsuki's tears seemed to have made me lose my cool.

"...If you have something to say, I hope you can finish what you started out to say. Nevertheless, I can probably imagine the gist of it."

After speaking harshly to me like that, Lisa walked past us and went up the stairs.

In the end, I watched Lisa leave without being able to say a single word.

After Lisa was out of sight, Ariella relaxed her shoulders and said:

"Even though it's just the beginning, it feels like there are tough times ahead. Although given their personalities, they're still going to perform their duties properly... But it still doesn't feel reassuring."

Tia also concurred with a worried face.

"Yeah... It's not good to keep fighting. Tia wishes they could make up."

"...That's right."

As much as I agreed with Tia, I also understood that it was no easy task. This problem was quite deep-rooted because Mitsuki and Lisa's dispute had persisted all the way from two years ago ever since Shinomiya Miyako's passing.

It looked like I should not go chasing after Mitsuki either. If I made things worse, it might make prevent Mitsuki from even feigning "things as normal."

But I did not think that maintaining the status quo was the right answer either.

—I really want to find a way to mediate this.

In any case, I should try finding a solution.

Because if those two could reconcile, perhaps it could also eliminate Mitsuki's insecurities.

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