Editing Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 12 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 3===


Somehow, I fell asleep.

I opened my eyes, realizing after my nap.

So sleepy—I really wanted to remain in the land of dreams.

However... Strangely, my body felt heavy.

As for where this weight came from, I found out as soon as I opened my eyes, greeted by the sight before me.

"Gu..."

A petite red-haired girl—Ren Miyazawa<!--katakana with given name first-->—was sleeping on top of me. She was curled up like a cat, soundly asleep...

Having changed, she was wearing her usual uniform instead of a yukata.

What on earth was happening? I looked around then noticed Ariella sitting on the chair next to the bed.

Having taken over Iris' seat, Ariella had been watching the sleeping Mitsuki the whole time.

I shifted my body slightly and the sofa sank down. This sound prompted Ariella to look over.

"Oh, Mononobe-kun—You woke up. Hmm... Are you okay like that?"

Smiling wryly, Ariella rose up from her chair and came over to me. Since Ren was sleeping on me, I could not get up. Lying there on the sofa, I looked at Ariella.

"It'd be great if you could explain the current situation."

When I asked, Ariella scratched her cheek awkwardly.

"Umm... It's my turn to watch over Mitsuki and Ren came along."

"Why?"

Unable to comprehend, I asked.

"Well, Ren and I are roommates—Since I came over here, it means that Ren'd be left alone in the room, right?"

"Yeah, but what's the problem there?"

I frowned and looked up at Ariella. Then glancing at Ren, she knelt down next to me and whispered in my ear.

"I hope you'll keep this a secret... But Ren is scared of sleeping alone... She can't sleep like that."

Ariella spoke with an expression as though revealing an important secret. But for Ren, perhaps this really was strictly confidential.

"—I see, I get it now. I'll pretend I never heard the previous exchange. But I can't believe she chose to sleep on top of me out of all places."

Sighing, I looked at the soundly sleeping Ren. Inside my room, the only places to sleep comfortably were the bed and the sofa. Sleeping on me should not be very comfy.

"Ren is able to sleep anywhere as long as she's by the side of someone she finds reassuring. Your heartbeat allows her to relax and fall asleep straight away. As expected of Ren's 'Onii-chan'."

Now that she pointed it out, indeed, Ren's ear was pressed against the left side of my chest. After stroking her red hair softly, I looked at Ariella again.

"I'm glad that Ren trusts me so much, but I can no longer sleep in this posture. I'm going to yield the sofa to her, so could you pick her up gently without waking her up?"

"Got it. Leave it to me."

Ariella nodded and used her arms to pick up Ren securely. Taking the opportunity, I got off the sofa and stood up to stretch. Despite her petite size, having a person's entire weight on me still made me stiff and uncomfortable. It felt like sleep paralysis. Thinking that, I looked at Mitsuki sleeping on the bed.

"How is Mitsuki doing?"

I whispered to Ariella, who was poking Ren's cheeks while she was sleeping on the sofa.

"She woke up once when Firill was on watch, but she immediately went back to sleep without making a scene."

"She woke up once, huh—Uh, what's the time now?"

Since it was dark outside the window, I had no sense of the passage of time. I glanced at the clock, only to see the hands indicating 4am. This hour could be considered morning.

"Mononobe-kun, you slept for almost five hours. Well, I'm really glad you woke up before Kili's shift. If you were still sleeping, I'm sure she'll... Umm, do weird things."

Ariella spoke with mild blush. Perhaps she was recalling last time when Kili visited me during the night.

"No, you probably don't need to worry about that. If it's Kili, I'll definitely wake up the moment she tries to do anything."

I smiled wryly and shook my head. Ren was able to climb on top of me without waking me up because she was not someone I needed to keep my guard up against. Against anyone dangerous, I had full confidence in my ability to wake up immediately to handle the situation.

"Very well... But I get the feeling you might get swayed by the situation even if you're careful, Mononobe-kun—"

"..."

Unable to deny her words, I could not say anything.

"I said it before, Mononobe-kun, but you need to pull yourself together. Especially against Kili, you have to be more assertive."

Arms akimbo, Ariella cautioned me.

"But she's not someone who'll comply obediently, right?"

"That's where you're wrong. I think she'd go along with your demands, Mononobe-kun, if you're forceful. Rather, she'd be happy about it."

"H-Happy?"

The unexpected word left me confused. I looked at Ariella questioningly.

"She is similar to me in some ways, so I know. Kili probably likes a partner who's better and stronger than her. So on a basic level, she's a passive person, or rather, she wants to be led."

"A passive person... In other words, she's a masochist?"

I shared my view to concur with Ariella's opinion, but she instantly went red in the face.

"M-Masochist—What are you suddenly talking about!? If Kili's like that, then aren't I also... Th-That's so obscene..."

Seeing Ariella totally flustered, I hastily waved my hands.

"No, what I mean is personality tendencies—I didn't mean to say anything obscene. Ariella, haven't you ever chatted with others about whether someone looks like an S or an M?"

"...Looks like? Oh, you mean in that sense. I thought you were being serious..."

"Serious?"

Puzzled, I asked Ariella who was wiping sweat from her brow in relief, then she immediately went red and denied it.

"Nothing, nothing at all! It's true that I've discussed this with Lisa and the others in detail! Firill even brought a book with a personality quiz."

"Eh, then which one came out as the analysis result for Kili?"

Interested, I tried asking but Ariella shook her head.

"It happened before we met Kili."

"Then what about you, Ariella?"

"......M."

Looking away from me, Ariella answered in a barely audible voice.

"M-Mononobe-kun, let me be clear, it wasn't just me! Lisa and Mitsuki were M too! Also, that book itself was quite weird, its credibility—"
[[image:UnlimitedFafnir v12 047.jpg|thumb]]

Ariella furiously explained herself with an intense blush, causing me to relax my expression.

"—W-What are you laughing at!?"

"Sorry, but you're just so cute, Ariella."

I apologized with a wry smile, causing Ariella to hold her breath, frozen on the spot.

"C... C-C-C-Cute—Could you not... say this sort of thing... so suddenly..."

Her voice became softer and softer while she lowered her head awkwardly.

"......Sorry."

I apologized again. Since I said it unintentionally, Ariella's reaction caused me to blush instead.

"Then who tested as S, Ariella?"

At this rate, the mood was going to become very awkward, so I hastily changed the subject.

"Ah, well—It might be quite surprising, but Iris was an S."

"That's definitely surprising... But on further thought, Iris gave Kili a '-chan' honorific and completely forced Kili to go along with her pace. Perhaps, that's—"

I crossed my arms and imagined Iris as a sadist...

Picturing Iris holding a whip, laughing madly, I hastily shook my head to dispel the image.

"—Totally unsuitable."

"Hmm?"

I smiled wryly at Ariella who had reacted to my muttering.

"Don't worry about it. Oh well, anyway, I'll remember your advice to be more assertive towards Kili."

"Y-Yeah, I hope you'll achieve it for sure... Also, umm, now that you're awake, go take a bath and get changed. With you looking like that, I don't know where to look anymore... Oh, I'll keep watch over Mitsuki, so don't worry."

Saying that, Ariella pointed at me. I looked down, only to see my yukata's collar wide open.

"—Got it, I'll do that."

While fixing up my clothes, I nodded at Ariella.

However, just as I was carrying a change of clothes into the bathroom's changing area, a ringtone was suddenly heard in the room.

"S-Sorry, that's mine—"

Ariella hastily took out her portable terminal from her pocket, but this sound was coming from more than one place. From the bed where Mitsuki was sleeping, Ren's sofa, and from my breast pocket—In any case, everyone's portable terminal was ringing.

"Mm...?"

Ren rubbed her eyes drowsily and sat up.

Before I pressed the button to pick up the call, the screen turned on automatically on the terminal. Then Midgard's chief administrator, Charlotte B. Lord, appeared.

"Members of Brynhildr Class, an emergency situation has arisen."

The principal who looked like a young child was fidgeting with her blonde hair nervously, speaking in a somber voice.

'Just now, a certain someone from NIFL—a name that probably none of us wish to hear for the time being—that Loki Jotunheim has contacted us.'

"Major Loki...?"

Charlotte nodded gravely when I spoke his name quietly. Images of everyone in the conversation were displayed on the monitors in the command center.

'Indeed... In any case, all of you need to look at this.'

After she said that, the screen changed. A towering black dome under a blue sky was shown on my terminal. Since there were no objects in view for reference, I could not estimate its size, but I already knew that this was a gigantic object.

This was because it was completely unreflective and lacked three dimensionality in appearance. It seemed like a hole floating amid the surrounding scenery, completely a deep abyss of darkness... This reminded me of the "darkness" attempting to devour Mitsuki and a chill ran through my body.

"Several hours ago, this type of dome had appeared at four locations across the world. With a diameter of three hundred kilometers or so and a height of roughly fifty kilometers, these domes are exceptionally large and impossible to observe their interiors. Hence, these spaces are currently called unknown territories."

"Unknown territories..."

—''Could this be related to the "darkness" inside Mitsuki''?

It was impossible to consider them coincidences with such timing.

'Although many towns have been swallowed, no one has come out of these domes. What emerged... was only this.'

Accompanying Charlotte's narration, the screen changed to show a strange entity hovering next to a dome.

It was gigantic heart covered by a spherical network of blood vessels. This surreal scene made Ariella exclaim in a confused voice.

"What is this..."

'That was the image when the entity first emerged. Now, it has transformed to this.'

Next, the screen changed to show a gigantic black "creature." A pitch-black dragon with wings outspread, hovering in the air—

"Isn't this Vritra? No, it's probably not—"

It was quite similar to the stand-in that the black dragon had created previously.

However, Vritra was currently with us in the form of a young girl. Furthermore, the dragon in the image was far too humongous.

During class, I had seen images of Vritra's first appearance twenty-five years ago, but it should not have been this big.

'Hmm—Please wait a moment. Tia Lightning apparently has something to inform all of us.'

As Charlotte spoke, an image of Tia appeared on the bottom right corner of the screen. With Lisa and Vritra behind her, it was probably Tia's bedroom.

'Umm, Tia has something to say.'

Tia spoke solemnly, but Vritra went over her shoulder and leaned forward to interrupt.

'Make no mistake, that is not I. 'Tis the model I referenced to create the dragon stand-in of mine, although I merely read the data provided by Kiskanu, this could very well be—'

'Stop! This is Tia's turn to speak! Don't get in Tia's way!'

Shoving away the interrupting Vritra, out of the screen, Tia spoke again.

'Through the connection to the Akashic Record, Tia knows what it is. It is from long long ago... The fifth calamity that visited Earth—the fifth dragon, "Eternal Longevity" Bahamut.'

"What..."

—Not the ninth but the fifth?

The urgent and imminent calamity was the ninth while the fifth should be in the past. It was a crisis that the world was supposed to have overcome.

The unexpected words made me gasp, but Charlotte did not seem surprised on the screen, only troubled.

'How odd, this name of Bahamut is the same as the codename assigned by NIFL. Do they actually have information on the fifth calamity...?'

Charlotte voiced her doubts but no one was able to give an answer.

'Why NIFL knows about Bahamut, Tia has no idea either. However... Bahamut appearing is in itself very strange! Because Bahamut was clearly defeated by Basilisk, the holder of Code Fünf...'

The confused Tia explained the abnormality of the situation.

"By Basilisk? Then Iris, having inherited that authority—"Catastrophe"—would be able to take out that crazy huge dragon?"

Was it due to my whispered comment? Iris appeared on the bottom left of the screen. It looked like she had been sleeping until earlier since she was dressed in a flimsy negligee.

'Eh!? M-Me?'

Iris pointed to her own face in panic. However, Charlotte crossed her arms with a grave expression.

'—It would be too soon to assert that. However, it is impossible to say for certain until we see the outcome of the attempt.'

"Attempt? Then—"

When I spoke out, Charlotte nodded.

'Yes, NIFL has requested our cooperation. While Bahamut continues to move, the unknown territory is expanding at the same time. This is no time to be staying uninvolved and watching from the sidelines. Furthermore...'

She paused for a moment, then spoke again as though she had dispelled her hesitation.

'Bahamut's expected route includes many countries—including the Principality of Erlia, the homeland of one of our Ds, Firill Crest. If Bahamut were to deviate slightly from predictions, even Lisa Highwalker's homeland of England would not be spared.'

This information brought alarm to the face of Lisa, who was behind Tia. Although not shown on the screen, Firill was probably starting to worry too.

'In order to protect the homelands for these maidens, the Ds, to return to, I have accepted NIFL's request as Midgard's top command. Considering the links between this and the ninth calamity reported earlier, as well as "Catastrophe," you are the only ones capable of taking on this mission. Although it pains my heart to send you to a dangerous battlefield again... I hope all of you will aid in this endeavor.'

"Of course—Then what exactly do we have to do?"

I replied instantly and asked Charlotte for our mission. In the same room as me, Ariella and Ren also nodded without hesitation.

'...Thank you, my friend and the young maidens. You will join NIFL's defense line to intercept Bahamut together. However... There is a serious problem here.'

Charlotte thanked us but for some reason, her expression turned very grim.

"Problem?"

'We have no means of transport. Originally, we could meet up with NIFL by ship transport on the sea, which would then allow you to head to the scene by plane or helicopter. However, there is not a single NIFL ship in Midgard's surroundings at the moment. It was my demand after the battle that NIFL withdraw its forces completely... I never thought it would come to bite us in return.'

Charlotte sighed with her hand against her forehead. However, I asked:

"All we need to do is fly to where NIFL is, right? That'll greatly shorten the time until rendezvous."

'The NIFL force sent to pick you up is extremely distant. It would be too far to fly using transmutation, exhausting you greatly before the battle. However... Perhaps we have no other options.'

Charlotte was very troubled, but Tia raised her hand vigorously from the small window on the screen.

'Wait! In that case, Tia has a better idea!'

"Tia?"

I responded in surprise and Tia brought her fist to her chest and said seriously.

'Well, Tia thinks that we just need to complete Marduk together!'

"Complete Marduk, what do you mean—"

Unable to understand Tia's words, I was baffled.

Marduk was a weapon system used by Atlantis, the ancestors of mankind. In order to defeat dragons such as Leviathan and Hraesvelgr, I had used transmuted dark matter to recreate parts of Marduk.

It was true that every weapon of Marduk was very powerful, but currently, the problem was meeting up with NIFL. I could not see how these two matters were connected.

However, Tia continued to speak to Charlotte.

'Principal, please. Order all Ds to assemble at the harbor right now.'

'Sure, I can do that, but...'

Charlotte seemed worried but still nodded.

'Okay, let's all go to the harbor!'

Having obtained permission, Tia hung up without explaining in detail. On the screen with one less small window, Charlotte sighed.

'It fills me with guilt to disturb the sweet dreams of young maidens when the sun has yet to rise—But there is no other way. Let us listen to her explanation at the harbor.'

Then the portable terminal's screen went dark and my room returned to peace and quiet.


"Nii-san, stop standing there, spacing out. Hurry and get changed. Ariella-san and Ren-san, please get prepared to set off."


Surprised by the voice that broke the silence, I turned to face the bed.

Had she woken up without my noticing? Sitting up on the bed, Mitsuki was holding her portable terminal, looking at me.

"Mitsuki..."

I called out her name hoarsely.

"You woke up. Are... you fine now?"

"Mm, do you feel unwell anywhere?"

Ariella and Ren also noticed and asked Mitsuki with worry.

"Yes—I am fine. I am fully informed too. I shall... make a trip to my room first."

Saying that, Mitsuki got off the bed. Like me, she was still wearing her yukata. She was probably planning to change into her uniform in her room.

"Wait, even if you're fine right now, Mitsuki, it's best you avoid being alone."

I frantically tried to stop Mitsuki who was making her way to the door.

"...Yes, good point. Because of the ninth calamity, right...? When I woke up previously, Firill-san already told me about taking shifts to watch over me. In that case... Ariella-san and Ren-san should come with me, so no need to worry, Nii-san."

Pausing in her steps, Mitsuki spoke in an exceedingly calm voice.

This was probably the calmness she tried her hardest to feign while enduring the pain that was tearing her heart apart.

"But—"

"Nii-san, are you actually trying to watch me change? If you say yes, you will have to write a repentance essay, you know?"

Smiling weakly, Mitsuki cautioned me.

"......Understood. Okay, Ariella and Ren, I'm leaving Mitsuki in your hands."

Despite my hesitation, I nodded and entrusted Mitsuki to them.

"Got it. I'll contact you straight away if anything happens. No need to worry."

"Mm, don't worry."

Next, Mitsuki left my room, accompanied by Ariella and Ren.

I knew I ought to say something else—I knew I ought to do something. However, what exactly was it? No matter how I racked my brain, I did not know.