Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume14 Chapter6 (section)

===Part 2===

Kamito and company followed the girl through a narrow passage inside the ship. Probably having shaken off the militarized spirit from their trail and entered a stable course, the ship did not feel like it was shaking as much as earlier. However, the sound of spirit mechanisms in operation grew louder the deeper they went.

After a while&mdash;

"...Say, can I ask a question?"

Kamito asked the girl who was walking in the lead.

"Please go ahead, as long as it is answerable."

"Uh, who is that master you speak of? Why were we brought on this ship?"

"Please ask the master directly."

The girl answered coldly without looking back.

"...Fine. A different question... Who are you?"

"I am master's subordinate. Just a tool, pure and simple, nothing more and nothing less."

(...A tool huh.)

Hearing that answer, Kamito became certain of the girl's origin.

The cold expression, lacking in emotion. A special gait with no sound of footfall. Movements resembling a wild beast's that he could catch faint glimpses everywhere.

In addition, she had completely erased her presence when showing up just now.

(...More than likely, she's from that facility.)

&mdash;Speaking of which, then that was a clue to her master's true identity.

"Where did this military ship come from?"

Kamito continued to ask. He wanted to gather as much information as possible before meeting the master.

"This ship, the Revenant, was purchased by master from Murders' top echelons."

"So Revenant is its name huh."

"But it appears to have gone through a lot of modifications&mdash;"

This time, Claire entered the conversation.

"Master hired an Elfim technician to remodel the ship. Although the exterior is of an old design, the spirit mechanisms providing thrust are based on applications of cutting-edge spirit engineering."

"Spirit engineering... Don't tell me that Velsaria's 'fortress' is the same?"

Ellis was suddenly reminded by Claire's comment.

"O-Oh right, where did my esteemed sister go? I have not seen any signs of her&mdash;"

"...Esteemed sister?"

"The one who was taken into a container under the ship earlier&mdash;"

Only then did the girl nod in comprehension and reply:

"Lady Velsaria should be undergoing maintenance in the medical bay. You will not be able to meet her yet."

"Maintenance? ...What is that about?"

"Operating an elemental panzer will cause a great deal of strain on the user's body. Activity duration is meant to be restricted to one minute only&mdash;The sortie just now had already exceeded the time limit."

"W-What!? What on earth is my esteemed sister doing here!?"

Hearing that, Ellis questioned the girl.

However, the girl ignored Ellis' question and stopped in front of a certain room along the passage.

"Please wait here for a moment. I shall report to the master."

After opening the door and inviting Kamito and company to enter, she returned to the passage.

Kamito and the others examined the interior of the room.

It was a relatively large hall for a room in a military vessel. Inside was a long oval table and six leather chairs. There was nothing else apart from this furniture.

It looked like a military conference room, completely tilted towards practicality.

"...It feels like it's impossible to relax in this room."

Kamito leaned the Demon Slayer against the wall and found a chair to sit down without bothering with manners.

"Kamito, you should probably act less casual. There might be a trap."

"They wouldn't have brought us all the way here if a trap was intended."

"...I suppose you have a point."

Kamito's gaze fell upon the table at this time.

Spread on it was a map of the continent with the Ordesia Empire at the center. The blank parts of the map were crammed full of writing resembling notes, but Kamito could not understand all the military jargon.

...However, there was one thing that bothered him.

One point on the map was marked with a red pin.

The place indicated by the pin was the sacred city of Alexandria, the capital of the Holy Kingdom of Lugia, Ordesia's neighbor.

What did that mean? Just as Kamito was thinking about it...

"But who on earth could it be, this master?"

Ellis murmured to herself.

"...I have a pretty good guess."

"Yes, me too&mdash;"

Hearing Kamito's comment, Claire nodded with a face of mixed feelings.

"What?"

"The one who'd do this&mdash;"

At that very moment, the door handle was heard turning and the door opened.

Clack&mdash;The hard sound of military boots striking the floor&mdash;

That person appeared.

"&mdash;I knew it. You huh?"

Kamito muttered and glared at ''her'', standing at the door.

Eyes of ruby, inhabited by strong determination. Long crimson hair that resembled blazing flames. Wearing a white overcoat on top of her military uniform, she looked like a general in command of an army.

(...Nothing less expected of her. Despite losing her contracted spirit, she remains just as intimidating and ambitious.)

Kamito secretly gasped.

"Y-You are..."

Ellis' eyes widened.

"Nee-sama..."

Claire bit her lip hard.

Claire probably guessed it would come to this. However, she still reacted with speechlessness, frozen in shock when this person appeared before her for real.

"&mdash;Everyone, welcome to my ship."

Finally, she spoke.

It was the Calamity Queen who had disappeared during the final round of the Blade Dance&mdash;Rubia Elstein.