Editing Hyouketsu Kyoukai no Eden:Volume 4 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 7===

Floor 11 of {{furigana|Tenketsu Palace|Sophia}}, the Cadet Guard lodging.

“Even though I was tired from the unit battles, why does the instructor always prepare something to add on top!?”

“'''''The instructor was quite lively!'''''“

“……She had the greatest smile on her face.”

Carelessly replying, Sheltis dropped down onto his room’s bed. After he ate dinner on the 25th floor, took a shower and returned, it was already the dead of night.

“Look, Sheltis, the stars are beautiful.”

In the window ─── the night sky that was shining like a tipped-over jewel box. Their respective radiances were meagre by themselves, which is exactly why they did not drown out each other and seemed to support each other as they shone.

“Ilis really likes stars.”

“'''''Is it not romantic? I think they are the sole thing that goes on without changing.'''''“

Ilis shined at the base of the pillow almost like a star.

“'''''But you seem sleepy.'''''“

“……I haven’t slept since yesterday. The main culprit is Kagura.”

Because of her lust for knowledge, he had been questioned by her since last night until the early morning, went through the first and second screenings and then taken the usual training from the instructor.

“Ilis, wake me up when it’s time to get up tomorrow.”

With that said, good night.

Lying face-down with his pillow hugged up to his eyes───

“Sheltis, come to my room now.”

“……Somebody, save me. A demon with a machine helmet is obstructing my sleep.”

“Who’s a demon?”

The one he could hear from the speaker at a corner of the ceiling was Kagura whom he’d just spoken of.

“Could it be another questioning session?”

“Of course not. Worry not, this time it won’t take more than thirty minutes. There is something regarding tomorrow unit battle that I would like to consult you about. It’s something I’d like to keep secret from Monica.”

It was odd that Kagura wanted to consult him about the unit battles and even wanted to keep it secret from Monica.

“Is there a reason?”

“We’ll talk at room 085 on floor 14, so could you come quickly?”

“Yeah, probably in a few minutes.”

His usual shirt and black top were in the closet. He was currently in his room-use attire. They could also be used during training, so there would be no problem going out just like this.

“Then I shall be waiting. Ah yes, just one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“I’ve called you out and it will be just us two. ……If you assault me, I will immediately press the emergency report button.”

“Isn’t that a little harsh when you’ve called me out!?”

Floor 14 of {{furigana|Tenketsu Palace|Sophia}}.

“'''''Sheltis, why are you acting this nervous?'''''“

“It’s because this is a girls-only floor.”

Disregarding in the middle of the day, he had no idea what somebody would think if he were found in the middle of the night like this. They might overlook it if he explained his circumstances but it would be best to have no misunderstandings.

“'''''By the way, it seems Leon almost met the same problem before. His was due to night patrolling but he was surrounded by female Cadet Guards who knew that.'''''“

“A molester uproar?”

“'''''The opposite. The girls on the floor all came and gave him a hearty welcoming. ‘How about tea in my room?’, ‘Rather, please stay over!’; with that popularity, it’s an anecdote of how he was chased around and escaped.'''''“

“……That’s unreasonable.”

“'''''He’s good-looking and tall with the superior first-class swords skills of a Sennenshi, and to top it off he has a serious personality. Of course he’d be popular. Why don’t you learn from him?'''''“

“I’m not frustrated or anything!?……well, forget that. We’re here.”

Number 085 had a door that was just the exact same as every other room. The machine lock was also standard. That’s how it was even though her room at the Tower Control Bureau was different right from the door.

“……Unexpectedly, her room for sleeping is normal.”

“This room is regulated by the Defense Institution so even if I wanted to remodel it, the procedures are a pain.”

The voice from beyond the door.

“I’ll be opening it now, please come inside.”

───Authorized───

The door unlocked with an mechanical and electronic sound. The mechanical door slid to the side.

“You were pretty fast. Please come this way.”

“……I’ll be intruding.”

Just a few steps from the front door was the living room. Further in was a kitchen and path. It’s structuring was completely the same as the room allotted to men.

It was the same for the interior design.

On the floor was a warm-colored carpet. In the living room was a table, chair and bed, as well as a closet.

“This is also more normal than I expected.”

“Did you think that I would have bundles of documents and machine cords covering the floor?”

Kagura who answered with a serious face was also in a thin dressing gown. Perhaps it was also for sleeping as the faint yellow clothing was sewn with soft-looking fabric and there were frills attached at the collar and on the sleeves.

And there was one more thing that caught his eye more than anything else───

“You’re not wearing your mechanical helmet?”

“Yes. There’s no reason to hide it in my own room. And I just took a shower, so it would be too wet until my hair dries.”

Facing outward from her dark green hair were two long ears.

Wrapped in warm fur like a fox, they were the distinguishing characteristic of Nell folk like her. She didn’t like having other people see them so she would normally hide them.

……Ahh, I see.

She’d removed her mechanical helmet so she didn’t want to go outside, so she’d invited him to her room.

“Well, it’s already late for you, right? Let’s proceed straight to the main topic.”

There were two chairs at the circular table. Being invited over, Sheltis sat down in the seat opposite her.

“I’m going to say it plainly. Did you go easy in today’s unit battle?”

Even though it should have been simple.

It took him a little while to comprehend those words.

“……You mean me? No, I didn’t do something so obvious.”

Different from the actual combat that he did when he exchanged blows with Leon, he put in as much strength as he did in the morning training. If he didn’t do that, his skills would rust.

“But when you fought with Maha, your movements weren’t like this.”

The gaze of her clear black eyes seemed to pierce through him.

“'''''Fue? Who’s this Maha?'''''“

“I’ll show you the recording, so please stay put for a little.”

She connected the {{furigana|machine pearl|Machine}} with {{furigana|machine crystal|Ilis}} and left them on the floor. In any case, with this she should stay quiet on things to say for a little bit.

“……That fight with Maha wasn’t a situation to hold back in.”

Even within his numerous experiences with actual combat, ‘'''''Maha'''''‘ was in a different class. Boasting inhuman strength on those grasslands, and with just a puppet; being such, just how strong the real one was……he couldn’t even imagine.

“And that was a real battle, so it was done with spirit.”

“It’s not a problem of spirit or conscience. I wanted to voice a different cause. There is a more frank and concrete reason.”

Putting both her elbows on the table, the Nell girl held each hand in the other.

“This is what I think. I think you were unconsciously tense.”

“……Which means?”

“You’re not used to it, right? Rather than battles where you guard other people, you’re not used to battles '''with other people supporting you''' ─── how about it?”

Things that pertained to that meaning arose in his mind.

“…………”

Without himself realizing it, Sheltis stared at the ceiling.

……That might be true.

It was already something from however many years ago. The time he had just enlisted.

He had been paired with Leon until he became a Regular Guard, so they had been able to act as they liked.

When he became an Elite Guard as well, he was surrounded by people of superior ability. There was no need for support; rather, it felt embarrassing to have to request support.

───I have no experience in battles where I’m receiving support.

It was exactly as Kagura had said.

“……I understand but”

The past and now are different. Because Leon wasn’t in his unit.

Monica’s true worth was in combining her {{furigana|crossed rods|Rosario}} with her Shinryoku arts and Kagura was completely a support type. There would be no hope for the unit’s growth if they were not making the best of their specialties.

“That’s right, you understand in theory as well. But that backfired today.”

That was about today’s unit battle.

“You moved while being conscious of Monica who was in the center and I who was in the very back, right? We can assume your thoughts of ‘I have to cover the both of them’ were too strong so they hindered your movements.”

Small hindrances would pile up to become great strain. The strain only from sensing Kagura at a location away from him. That was surely something greater than he had thought.

[Crossed his dual blades and matched them to the path of the {{furigana|throwing steel|Chakram}}───]

Kagura quickly wrote an “x” sign on the white paper above the table.

“Even though there was only one {{furigana|throwing steel|Chakram}} that time, you receive it with both swords. But you shouldn’t have needed to. With the skill you showed me in the battle with Maha, even if you ignored it you would have been able to deflect it with one sword.”

But why didn’t he do that?

“The answer is simple. You didn’t see the {{furigana|throwing steel|Chakram}} at that time. Instead of deflecting it with one hand, you were watching both of us who were behind you, right?”

“……That was just once.”

“That’s right. But I think that’s enough. It is normal for the attacks to concentrate on the general in the Open Flag format. ───And the precedent for the real issue ends here.”

She stayed from for a moment and her gaze became icy.

“In tomorrow’s unit battle, I would like you to help Monica.”

“Help……you don’t mean just covering for her, right?”

“As you suspect, I mean my instructions in the midst of battle. Those with the leeway to observe their surroundings during battle probably consists of only you. ……It’s a shameless thing to ask but I’d like you to decide the commands for everyone to respond well. I would like you to give orders.”

While touching her extended out ears, Kagura continued.

“The unit’s leader is Monica, but in actual combat, you are the one who can best control the unit’s flow. I think Monica can also do it if she becomes used to it but it’s too much to expect from her when just became a unit leader.”

The first unit battle with first-time members and a first-time unit leader. Monica was dealing with all these first times. There was an unknown amount of pressure on that back.

“There are other things only Monica can do, after all.”

“That’s right. Applying for the creation of a new unit entails creating the name registry and contact list as well as the application to the Defense Institution, and other things.”

But the most important is……of course, the gathering of unit members like us. I am, as expected of my personality, not meticulous. Since you also want to hide your past from others, it’s hard to lead a unit, right?”

Nobody else could command the unit except Monica. There was no other choice but to depend on her.

───That’s why I will support her.

───Each of the unit members would, in things other than that, in areas they specialized in.

“So you’re saying the unit battle is my task.”

“Yes. If we expand it, that includes all of our battles as a unit. I will support in the area of information gathering for all things I can’t help with in that area.”

Kagura nodded.

“You are not used to battles where you receive support. You are confused so it’s an obvious result that your movements become constrained. But I would like you to adapt to it. We require your support and you will make the best of our support ─── that kind of battle style.”

“……I’ll do my best.”

He had intended to recognize that requirement but he had felt it for real in today’s unit battle. It would take time to get used to this kind of battle.

……It’s quite harsh with only me at the front lines right now.

While fighting at the far front lines as an attacker, he had to keep Monica who was at the middle and Kagura who was at the very back in mind. As Kagura had pointed out, his movements were being hindered by that right now. <ref>[T/N: Attacker here is 特攻 which is the same as "suicide attacker" from before. The only difference is that the author stuck "アタッカー" on top of it. {{furigana|Suicide attacker|attacker}} sounds retarded, so it's just "attacker" now. It's probably gonna continue (kudos to the next line).]</ref>

If only there was at least one more attacker.

“……Vaiel is”

“We can’t expect much of him. Just having him participate in the unit battle is a big step forward.”

The Nell folk girl just shook her head.

“Hey.”

“Are you wondering why I value him that much?”

He wordlessly assented. Doing so,

“That’s right.”

The expression of the girl suddenly broke down after she turned her head to the side. Her eyes that seemed to be nostalgic about and regretting something, mixed with holding back tears about something important───

“……It’s because I thought he was a good person. Is that bad?”

It was a strange and sad voice that sounded like a laugh.

“But……we fought after today’s unit battle. Why didn’t you protect me, I said.”

“Ahh, that was just simple communication.”

“That was?”

“Yes. He answered you properly, right? He said he’d also come for tomorrow’s unit battle.”

[So when was there ever a need for you to trust me? Ah── it's so hot, '''what an unbelievable pain in the ass that there's another unit battle tomorrow.''']

“……That had that kind of meaning?”

“He didn’t say anything about how to interpret it. It’s just me interpreting it as I like.”

Kagura chuckled and smiled with a cheerful look.

“Even saying that, that’s not enough proof. ……Then I shall tell one story from a long time ago.”

The girl told him.

That was a story from almost two years ago. An episode about a certain Cadet Guard.

“It’s well-known, but there is training that consists of running across the entirety of the desert field.”

“Yeah, that’s……”

The first day when Sheltis had just enlisted, that was the task the instructor had assigned to him. It was harsh training where a great deal of the newcomer Cadet Guards had retired partway.

“It wasn’t on the day of the enlisting ceremony, but there was a day when that was part of the regular training menu. ……A girl participated in that. For the girl who was normally a computer systems researcher, it had been a long time since she’d undergone training.”

That was none other than Kagura.

There was nobody else who was a researcher and a Cadet Guard at the same time.

“The girl who wasn’t used to training collapsed after running half of the hot sand area. It wasn’t heatstroke or anything, she just didn’t have the vitality……and normally it would end there with an instructor or relief squad helping her but it was different that day. The Cadet Guard who came from behind her piggybacked her and ran across the hot sand, carrying her all the way to the medical office.”

“…………”

“And the Cadet Guard who had carried the girl to the medical office also reached his limit and collapsed the instant they arrived. Say, he’s an interesting person, right?”

Those eyes that communicated that were smiling just a little sadly.

“The image of that time is probably strong. Even though he was saying that it’s such a pain, it’s such a pain, he would help someone when they were truly troubled. ……She came to think that.”

Being gazed at by those unblinking eyes, his words wouldn’t come out.

───Was that Vaiel?

He who kept saying everything was a pain and didn’t do anything during the afternoon’s unit battle?

“That there was such an old story, it would suffice if you just remember it for now.”

Narrowing her eyes in nostalgia, Kagura stood up.

“……I’m counting on you to keep this story a secret from Monica, okay?”

The girl said that in a calm voice.