Editing Hyouketsu Kyoukai no Eden:Volume 4 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 5===

“Sheltis, ……and Vaiel. Isn’t this rare seeing you two together?”

{{furigana|Tenketsu Palace|Sophia}}, public road.

Monica raised her hand at the fork leading to the outdoor training grounds.

“And, well……about yesterday, sorry for showing you an embarrassing side of myself.”

He looked at her for a little while after she finished saying that to start with───

“The thing about ‘Monica-senpai’?”

“Yeah……I didn’t think I’d meet her at a place like that.”

She nodded with her head downcast.

───I knew Monica would also be concerned about it.

It was only yesterday that she had been pressured by Ymy and ran away without saying anything but jumbled words.

He’d heard from Ymy that she was her senpai during her time as an apprentice Priestess but Sheltis was interested in what the key person, Monica, thought.

“Running out so suddenly like that, Ymy……did I offend the Priestess-sama?” <ref>[T/N: It sounds so damn weird with "-sama" attached, but 巫女 doesn't usually get it tacked on in the novel. It also indicates that she's separating their positions (and thus being kinda distant).]</ref>

“Nope, on the contrary, it looked like she wanted to talk with you more.”

“……I see.”

Monica’s expression gradually shifted to a lonely smile.

“Monica doesn’t dislike that Priestess-sama either, right?”

“Of course. She’s an important Priestess-sama, ……and my former kouhai.” <ref>[T/N: Kouhai is the opposite of senpai. It's just somebody that's newer, lower-ranked, or otherwise somehow below the senpai.]</ref>

Little by little, with a tone that seemed like she was grasping the core of her memories, she recounted it for him.

“Three years ago when I quit as an apprentice Priestess, I didn’t tell her that I became a Cadet Guard. ……Somehow I had a feeling like I had betrayed her when we’d worked so hard together for so long……and it became hard to say. I wanted to inform her when I became at least a Regular Guard.”

“And like that, time passed by.”

“It’s a shameful story. ……My former kouhai is now a marvelous Priestess-sama.”

The fear within those grey eyes was clear. Envy from being surpassed by a kouhai ─── rather than that, Monica looked off somewhere far into the distance with a deeply complex gaze.

……I’m glad. She doesn’t hate Ymy.

“It would be great if you could talk even a little on the trip to the Governmental Sector.”

“Yeah. For that reason, we must win the final selection.”

She balled both of her hands into fists.

She stared straight at the location enclosed by wire mesh ──── the door that led to the outdoor training grounds.

“Good morning.”

From beside the door, Kagura greeted them, accompanied by her floating {{furigana|machine pearl|Machina}}.

“Good morning. You’re here early, Kagura.”

“You’re just barely on time. Look, it’s really soon.”

Holding the {{furigana|machine pearl|Machina}}, she turned around and what she pointed to was───

The figures of five people approaching from the direction of the training grounds. The female instructor and behind her were four Cadet Guards.

“Fumu, Monica’s unit is here as well. Then as planned, we’ll go over the details of the final selection and do the introduction of the examiner ─── and finally, we’ll do the member introductions as well.”

The instructor pointed the cigarette she was holding in her mouth at them.

Facing them at the head of his unit was a black-haired, young, male Cadet Guard.

His age could be around twenty. His was tall and lean, with a nice face of delicate features. Upon that was an ever-present benevolent smile. But his scornful and hostile eyes seemed like they would swallow someone up.

“Heeh? Are introductions necessary?” <ref>[T/N: へえ. It's like lengthening "heh" except that the equivalent in English would be closer to "ohh". The Japanese use おお and such for surprise (or sarcastic surprise), etc., so I like to actually keep this for distinction.]</ref>

With that haughty attitude, he laughed exaggeratedly in a surprised manner.
[[image:Eden04_169.jpg|thumb]]

“Introductions or whatever, shouldn’t each side have already investigated the other team?”

“I’ve decided it’s necessary.”

“……Well, if the instructor says so.”

With one hand in the pocket of his formal wear, he looked over with a condescending gaze.

“I’m Nash. Nash G. Endolfin. It’s a pleasure. Do the other three also have to introduce themselves? Starting from the left, the one with the great sword is Kimberly, the heavy spear knight at the center is Lasdax and the shinryoku practitioner is the sole female of the group, Myun-fa.” <ref>[T/N: Names. Names. NAMES? Here we go. The leader is ナッシュ•G•エンドルフィン (nasshu G endorufin). Now the lackeys. First one is キンベリー (kinberi-). Second is ラスダックス (rasudakkusu). Third is ミュンファ (myunfa). Help?]</ref>

Nash shrugged his shoulders in an exaggerated motion.

“And you?”

“……I am”

“Though there’s no need to ask.”

Kukuu, came a slightly suppressed laugh.

“You’re the unit leader, Monica, right? That girl is Kagura, and he’s Sheltis. Behind that is Vaiel. The results of the first selection were publicly announced but being hit twice is an admirable number. You also wiped out your opponent in the second selection safely. The first battle was six minutes, fifteen seconds. The second was……what was it, Myun-fa?”

“Ten minutes, seven seconds.”

“That’s it. Those are also impressive numbers. Even though I thought you were just a mish-mash team to begin with. Passing the first selection and winning even the unit battle, and you even crushed Shandy’s team yesterday. Ah, Shandy’s the opponent you fought with in the unit battles yesterday. If it went as expected, I thought we’d be battling them in the final selection.”

……They’d done some detailed research.

Without it showing up on his face, Sheltis was applauding them in his heart.

Their speech was superficial and arrogant. But opposite that, one could see that they were a team that was serious, meticulous and didn’t slack on gathering information about their opponent’s unit.

“Nash, are you done talking?”

The instructor’s expression remained unchanged.

“The participants in the final screening are these two units. That’s all. After this is the explanation from the examiner.”

The instructor waved her suit and a single Regular Guard came in to replace her.

Her dazzling blonde hair was tied into two locks behind her head. The girl with two reddish brown eyes adorning her lovely face was wearing the normal formal clothes, but the lower half was a skirt.

“……I’sa?”

Seeing the figure he recognized, Sheltis reflexively called that name.

“Good day, Cadet Guards, I am this time’s examiner, I’sa.”

But she only cast a glance in his direction and continued on as if she didn’t know him.

“It’s eight people as planned. Well, it would be out of the question to be late here.”

She said that with a glance and deeply meaningful smile.

“Well then, let’s get to the details of the final selection ─── the final selection isn’t like the tests of battle strength until just now, it will measure the strength of your coordination as a unit. The theme will be patrolling of the nature district mission. I’ll be going along with you to check you all out in detail.”

……So it’s a patrol mission as I thought.

The last selection being a test of coordinated strength was a standard of sorts. Even within the types available, a Regular Guard would go out on a patrol mission periodically so it was easy to make it into a test for measuring the aptitude of Cadet Guards.

“The duration is three days. After completing your preparations, assemble at noon. The finer instructions will be passed on aboard the transport. Any questions?”

Out of the eight people there, no hands were raised. Having decided there were no questions, I’sa narrowed her eyes slightly.

“If there are no questions, then I’ll just give you one warning. ……Unit leader, Nash G. Endolfin. That haughty attitude is not befitting of a Cadet Guard. I advise you to rework it.”

“Oh my, and here I had the intention of listening seriously.”

The young male unit leader shrugged his shoulders with a scoffing expression.

“Even though while I was explaining, you had your eyes closed and were frivolously smiling? Then I’d like you to understand your position better.”

“Position……position, is it.”

Being glared at by a Regular Guard who was his superior, Nash’s slight smile still didn’t vanish.

“That’s about you, isn’t it. '''The failure of a younger sister whose older sister is much too exemplary''', right?”

“It has nothing to do with onee-sama. I am the examiner here and I have no intention of borrowing from my sister’s prestige. I’ll continue the test fairly and impartially.”

“Then that’s fine. Well then, there are preparations to be made for tomorrow, so we’ll excuse ourselves here.”

Nash’s group made their exit from the gathering of guards. After confirming he couldn’t see his back, Sheltis made eye contact with I’sa who was still there.

“Is now okay?”

“For what, I wonder?”

“Umm……see, ……various things.”

About the wound she sustained from the battle with Maha. About her partner, the dual gun wielding Jin. About her position as the examiner this time. There were too many things he wanted to ask about so he didn’t know which to begin from.

“Fool, get things straight in your head before you start speaking.”

I’sa sighed after folding her arms. It was not the attitude she took on as an examiner but the confident and high-handed one that Sheltis knew.

“Umm……well then, starting from that one case.”

“The Maha case? I was only injured slightly to begin with and Jin’s recovery is going well. If it’s about how I’m the examiner this time, I made the request myself. Jin’s in rehabilitation at any rate.”

“Heeh, that’s rare. You yourself said that you wanted to be the examiner?”

Even though the job of an examiner required time and effort.

“Well, the Cadet Guards that pass this exam are the ones that will be traveling together with onee-sama to the Governmental Sector, right? I don’t want to let some unknown person travel together with onee-sama, so I thought I should choose who it would be myself.”

“Your onee-sama will be traveling together……traveling together?”

He repeated I’sa’s words several times with a cocked head. The ones going on the trip to the Governmental Sector were Ymy, the clerk of the General Affairs Bureau and the Cadres Guard. That would mean that I’sa’s onee-san would be one of those people.

Then who would it be……

“Heeh. I’sa’s onee-san is a clerk in the tower?”

“What kind of stupid things are you saying. She’s the Cadres Guard, the Cadres Guard. The Guard closest to the Sennenshi.”

Suddenly, Leon’s warning came back to him.

“'''''Be careful. They’re someone who’ll figure out your true identity if you act carelessly.'''''“

“'''''You also know the person who’s at the summit of the elite guards right now. You’ll understand if I say it’s ‘Jelshuvessa’ whom you’ve competed with countless times.'''''“

“No way!?”

“What’s not possible?”

“No, well……you can’t possibly be that '''Ishtar'''‘s……little sister?”

“Oh, so you know. Well, onee-sama is famous so that much is assured.”

I’sa puffed her chest with satisfaction.

“……I’ve somehow come to an understanding.”

There were many females Guards but there were only a handful amongst the Elite Guards which were in the upper echelons. However, within that handful, there were periodically female Guards that were hiding power enough to crush a male Elite Guard.

───The one at the top of all that was Ishtar Is Ismael. <ref>[T/N: イシュタル•イス•イスマエル (ishutaru isu isumaeru). Yeah.]</ref>

I’sa had also affirmed her with the lofty title of “onee-sama”. That was just how powerful her older sister was, standing far above even amongst the Guards.”

“Well, let’s put that aside. I’m glad, with I’sa as the examiner, I can be at ease. If it was a Regular Guard I didn’t know watching, I’d feel awkward.”

“……As naive as always. But it was true that I will be judging fairly.”

I’sa thrust her extended finger out at him.

“It’s a test to travel together with onee-sama. I have no intention of favoring you just because I know you. I will be evaluating you Cadet Guards as the examiner. Remember that.”

He stared down that finger and look straight on. Exchanging glances with Monica and Kagura, Sheltis was representing the unit in their stead.

“I know, we also have the intention of doing our best fair and square.”

“Fun, then that’s fine. Try your best.”

I’sa snorted and turned around. She then headed off.

“And with that, the gathering has come to an end. I’m heading back first.”

“H-hey, wait, Vaiel. We’re going to discuss the strategy going into the final selection now.”

Monica held back Vaiel who was about to leave.

“I’m sleepy. I’ll just listen to the results of the meeting afterwards.”

“That’s kind of selfish───”

Just before Monica raised her voice, Sheltis cut in between them.

“Wa……wait, wait, Monica! Sorry, just forgive him today!”

“Eh?”

She blinked with a puzzled and lovely dumbfounded expression.

“I’ll pass on the details of the meeting to Vaiel later. Okay?”

“……If Sheltis is going to go that far, fine.”

Monica assented with an unsatisfied look.

“But what happened? If there’s a reason, I’d like to know.”

“Eh……well, if you insist and Vaiel runs away here, it’d also be a problem.”

Without mentioning the thing about Yuto in the early morning, he pulled through with a deceptive smile.

……Absolutely do not talk about it, huh.

……Even though he’s doing such great things all alone, he won’t tell anyone.