Editing Apocalypse Witch:Volume3 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 3===

“Keep going, keep going! This way!”

The silver iodide artificial rain had soaked up the oil fire’s smoke, creating a truly filthy downpour that plastered Sophia Firenze’s flaxen hair to her cheek. She was looking up into the night sky and waving her hands around. Even as an adult, she had a look of puppy-like energy on her face.

It was unclear how much it would draw the enemy fire away from the city, but Natlena Blast and the other students were accurately landing at the floating general airport. They took an almost vertical descent more like a helicopter or VTOL craft than a passenger plane that traveled down a long runway.

The woman in a soaked suit grinned (while entirely unaware that her unexpectedly boldly-colored underwear was showing through her white blouse).

“Good work, everyone. You can get a bath or change of clothes in the staff lobby. We also have a hot meal ready for you. Heh heh! If you want some food, please visit the café lounge.”

Natlena sighed at the mention of fresh clothes. She would be heading back out and getting soaked all over again after a short break, but dry clothes would still make her feel better.

She heard Yamane Deiri and Nekoumi Hirosuke chatting as they landed on the artificial float after her.

“Tch. What was Karuta talking about when he called her a puppy!? All she does is lecture you at length no matter what you do. If anything, she’s a grumpy cat. The kind that claws up your walls and furniture!”

“M-maybe it means she only opens up with Utagai-kun. Damn, I’m jealous.”

“Senpais?” said Natlena while slowly turning around, causing the high school boys to jump and scatter. They were the perfect example of disappointing boys. Natlena sighed at how her ideal view of older boys was crumbling before her eyes.

(Karuta-senpai must have really been working hard to look like a responsible adult.)

At any rate, she entered the hidden space through a small staff-only entrance and accepted a spare uniform and underwear. She was sorely tempted when she saw the sign on the wall for the shower room, but she shook her head. She was going to head out again soon anyway, so she wanted to avoid warming up too much before heading back out into the chilly rain. She instead used the locker room to strip off her clothes and dry her hair and body with a towel.

She spread out the provided underwear between her two hands.

“Ugh, this is a bolder color than I expected.”

Whose taste was this? She would have preferred a more subdued color since she was going to get soaked in the rain and they had not provided another thick sports innerwear. Not that she would have wanted some beige granny panties either.

The inability to intuitively choose something in between those two extremes suggested these had been chosen by Sophia (who was wearing something surprisingly bold). Natlena quickly got dressed in the new clothes, placed her wet clothes in a small plastic container, attached a sticker with her class and name written on it, and handed that to the student on laundry duty.

(Well, I didn’t choose this underwear, so it won’t be my secret showing if it shows through. And I have my perfect band-aid defense just in case.)

Oblivious to her own unusual views on the subject, she walked to the café lounge where she was met with the smell of spices. She tilted her damp-haired head and realized she had forgotten to use a dryer.

“I wonder what they’re feeding everyone. Curry rice???”

“Oh, ''Jane''-san! Over here!!”

The female teacher hopped up and down and ran over with some rice balls and sandwiches without Natlena asking for anything at all. Jane Ignition was the false name ''she had been given'' back when she infiltrated Second Grimnoah for revenge, but she did not have much of an attachment to it now. She simply had not had a chance to tell the teacher what her real name was, so she was a little unsure what to do now.

Sophia Firenze smiled in a perfectly puppyish way.

“Here, have some food. You should start with something light, but if you want something more, we have seafood curry, cabbage rolls, and chukadon.”

That menu was awfully international, or a jumbled mess really. Natlena wondered how they had settled on that, but then she realized they were borrowing the ingredients available at the airport’s cafes and restaurants. The unnecessarily fancy and international selection meant there was probably a buffet somewhere in the airport.

“I recommend the tonkotsu ramen! They had a lot of souvenir packages in stock and the one I tried was just like the real deal! How exciting!!”

Hadn’t this teacher been fixated on some expensive cup noodles from a famous Japanese restaurant when they were at the Crystal Beach? Not getting any there must have caused her desire gauge to fill up even more here.

“Um, why would a Japanese souvenir shop sell tonkotsu ramen which is the same in every part of the country? Not to mention those mysterious shortbread cookies.”

“I don’t know.”

The grownup seemed legitimately puzzled. Then again, Sophia was not Japanese, so why would she know so much about Japan? Natlena was better off asking someone like Utagai Karuta about this mystery similar to how Tokyo’s train station bentos sold better than those at any other station around the country.

Natlena took a packaged sandwich and then sat in one of the one-person sofas lined up alongside the reinforced glass windows. “Sophia-sensei!” called some girls in the distance, so the tight skirt teacher rushed over to them. She was apparently fairly popular.

Natlena looked down at the clear box sitting in her lap.

She had expected ham or egg since Sophia had called it “light”, but she found it to be quite thick when she picked it up. It was a club sandwich, but it had an excessive amount of chicken. It was so greasy she could barely taste the spices.

(Does she think girls need to eat a lot to grow up?)

Natlena felt like Sophia Firenze and Amaashi Marika would get along. Meanwhile, she grabbed one triangular sandwich slice in both hands, took a small bite from a corner, and swallowed it. She realized she had forgotten to get a drink, but she did not feel like waiting in line now.

She finished off the three sandwich slices even though it grew difficult toward the end.

“Don’t let your body cool down! Focus on your breathing while resting to make sure your body is idling on the inside. Mobile watches are great for objectively measuring your metabolism, but don’t let the numbers control you!!”

She could hear overbearing and muscular Kiyosawa Hadome’s voice.

He was causing a scene a short distance away. The massage chairs and energy drinks were apparently growing popular, but Natlena had no desire to join the crowds of people. She knew she had a habit of seeking out peace and quiet at times like this.

Just like her sister Anastasia had.

“…”

But then…

“Here.”

Someone spoke to her from the side and tossed her something. She caught it in a hand to find it was a U-shaped pillow.

Yamane Deiri waved at her.

“We’re heading out again after a short break. We’ve got a long way to go, so get some sleep while you can.”

“Um, is that really best?”

“This is a marathon, not a sprint. And if you let your guard down at any point, the anti-air lasers will get you, so don’t do anything that will hurt your focus later. Even 10 or 15 minutes of sleep can make a lot of difference. I know that from experience, so listen to your upperclassman here.”

“O-okay.”

“Because napping in class gives you all the energy you need to make the most of your lunch break! Ah ha ha!!”

Deiri left while laughing.

She felt so stupid for thinking highly of that older boy for even a moment. But it was true she had nothing to do now that she was done changing and eating. Crystal Magic did not require refueling or resupplying and no maintenance or inspections were necessary.

(10 or 15 minutes, hm?)

The green beams of light continued to occasionally tear through the darkness of the sky visible through the reinforced glass with rain pounding against it. Other students were drawing the anti-air laser fire. They were operating in shifts, but she still felt bad relaxing while they were out there doing that. Same with Marika’s group who had gone silent after leaving for Second Grimnoah and with Karuta and Aine who had gone to save those three. They were all fighting with their lives on the line, yet here she was.

On the other hand, getting some rest was part of her job.

And fretting here would accomplish nothing. She told herself that sleeping would be better than staying awake doing nothing, so she placed the U-shaped pillow behind her neck, folded her hands in front of her stomach, and then leaned back in the sofa.

She shut her eyes.



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Yamane Deiri and Nekoumi Hirosuke looked quietly down at 12-year-old Natlena Blast as she slept soundly in her large seat.

“Uhh, Karuta-senpai…zzz…”

The two boys smiled bitterly and placed a blanket over her.

They were heading back out soon, but they decided to leave her be.

“She’s been working way too hard for a little brat,” said Deiri as he turned around.

“H-high schoolers like us are supposed to protect the middle schoolers. Especially the girls.”

“And we’ve definitely gotta ask Karuta about that dream of hers when he gets back.”

“He’d better tell us his trick to winning middle school hearts!!”

They were the decoys who could never deliver a finishing blow themselves but were also constantly at risk. Some might see that as drawing the short straw, but they looked perfectly satisfied.

Deiri spun one arm around and cracked his neck with a wild smile on his lips.

“Okay, let’s get Round 2 started to protect our pal out there.”

“R-right. We’ve gotta show off how cool high schoolers are and let those middle schoolers know there’s a single upperclassman out there waiting for them.”